A Passion for Green Business

Nazis, Arizona and the Power of the Printed Word

2010-05-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Growing up in 1960’s suburban California, where everything was bright, sunny and new, I could not comprehend Nazi Germany. Watching the TV news in elementary school I saw student riots at Berkeley and Kent state; Stokley Carmichel, Angela Davis and other Black Panthers clad in leather standing on the steps of the Oakland City Hall; rock concerts; and Moratoriums for Peace. I didn’t understand much of it, but there seemed to be a general sense of empowerment – demand what you want, stand up for your rights.

Fast forward to the summer when I was 17. Craving a great tan AND intellectual stimulation, I spent my afternoons laying on a lounge in the backyard reading all of the WWII books by Leon Uris. Beginning with Exodus, I then raced through Mila 18 (Warsaw Ghetto), Battle Cry (Marines in the Pacific Islands), Armageddon (Berlin after the war), and QB VII (fictional libel lawsuit similar to real-life suit against Uris). At dinner each night I would badger my parents (who themselves had been teenagers during WWII) with question after question. “How could the people of Germany (Poland, Austria) let this happen?! Why didn’t the United States DO something? How could no one know?” At 17 things are black & white; I was incensed - how could this have happened???

Years later I found Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi.
I finally began to comprehend the slow and insidious way the Nazis wormed their way into German society. What I remember most about the book is how they started with the re-education of the children, who then were rewarded and praised for turning in adults who were Jews, or spoke poorly of the Fuhrer. It was stunning, and terrifying. But I was still pissed off and wholly uncompassionate regarding German citizens.

Last night I finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum.
It was magnificent. It deals with soul-shredding shame, with choices that no one should ever have to make, with the everyday gnawing hunger that all Germans (with the exception on Nazi officers) faced as the war went on, anti-Semitism, brutal cruelty, bravery, and lives totally ruined. I don’t want to write about the plot at all, because the way it unfolds is marvelous. Do not read the back cover, or any spoiler reviews. Just get the book, and read it.

What does this have to do with living in an eco-village? I’m not quite sure. But I think that the more understanding I have of people in difficult situations the more compassionate I will be. I tend towards judgment, and personal bias, and often forget that people are individuals and not just cogs in a big wheel. It also makes me think of what is happening in Arizona lately, where the police now have to freedom to stop anyone who looks Hispanic and demand papers. I find this exceedingly odd in a country made up largely of immigrants.

What is wrong with this picture? How about "My family and I are here, so now let's close the door"?

While I hesitate to make comparisons to Nazi Germany, the fear and the hatred sure seem similar. It is not a direction I want our country to go in. And yet, NPR says that while many folks are boycotting Arizona, “…the immigration legislation cuts both ways. A recent Gallup Poll shows most Americans are in favor of it. And ever since the governor signed the bill, supporters from other states have written to local news agencies to say they're considering a move to Arizona.”

Mother's Day at the Mercantile

2010-04-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: JudyStalus on Flickr

Hi friends. Just wanted to give you advance notice that the Milkweed Mercantile is serving Brunch on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 9th from 9:00 am -2:00 pm.

We’ll have a full Brunch menu, including:

Classic Eggs Benedict made with Primmer's Pastured Ham, Homemade English Muffins, and farm-egg Hollandaise
Blueberry & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast served with real maple syrup
Quiche with sundried tomatoes, feta and nettles served with a small salad

(May I stop here just for a second and say just how much we love Anthony?)

We’ll also have specials for children.

Photo Credit: RickBucich on Flickr

Rise and Shine meets Bottoms Up
We’ll be serving a variety of morning cocktails and “mocktails:” from Bellinis and Mimosas to Virgin Sunrises, we've got you covered.

All meals feature our own bread, house-made organic cheese made from organic raw local milk, pastured local meats, farm-fresh eggs from happy chickens, and organic produce. We serve Coffee (roasted in Minneapolis ) and SerendipiTea, both organic and Fair Trade.

Photo credit: JudyStalus on Flickr

Spring Flowers
In cooperation with Danette at Countryside Flowers we’re making it easy for you to pre-order a gorgeous spring bouquet which will be waiting at your table when you and your partner/wife/mom/mother-in-law/date/sister/friend/surrogate arrive. Bouquets can include your choice of lilies, daisies, gerbera daisies, larkspur, snapdragon, carnations, stock and spray roses (which come 4-5 blossoms on a stem). Let us know how much you’re interested in spending, and we’ll take care of the rest. $25-$60

A Relaxing Massage at the Mercantile
We have arranged for Nani to do four 75-minute massages on Mother’s Day. Massages will be given in a quiet, private room upstairs in the Mercantile. We’ll provide the music, essential oils, sheets and ambiance - you provide the recipient. Each massage will be followed by a light, refreshing snack. Sliding scale $60-$80

Please make your reservations by Wednesday, May 5th to ensure a seat, bouquet and/or massage.

After the event we'll post pictures - it's bound to be a great day!

If you build it, they will come.

2010-04-28T07:13:00.001-07:00

Brian, Apple and Ali sing for the crowd

Oh, my. Be careful what you wish for because sometimes your wishes really do come true!

Anthony preparing Chickpea Fries with Spicy Pimenton Sauce for the Grand Opening

Local friends peruse the buffet.

We had the official Grand Opening of the Milkweed Mercantile two Saturdays ago. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Lots of folks showed up, we had musicians playing and singing, and the food, of course, was amazing. More Grand Opening photos here.

La Quercia charcuterie (from Norwalk, Iowa)

Then last Saturday we opened for lunch, and were delighted to have a full house once again. It was the day of the regularly scheduled DR tour and Bob brought the group to the Mercantile as the last stop. It began to rain, then pour, so the entire group came in for a beer, and then sat on the porch for a few hours discussing Dancing Rabbit and "waiting for the rain to stop." Then a really fun group of students from Knox College came for a tour. They come every other year - last time they were here they stayed for the No-Talent Show that was happening and were a bit hit. Serendipity abounds, and a No-Talent Show was scheduled - Liat invited them to stay. By the time the show was over, it had been raining hard for about six hours, and there was no way they were going to get to Sandhill Farm (where they were scheduled to spend the night) on our muddy, rutted roads. So they spent the night, scattered here and there, in the common house and on the Mercantile porch.

The Judys

And that's still not the end! We were thrilled to meet Jan and Greg Judy of Green Pastures Farm. They do a "mob grazing" style of raising pastured beef. It is not only good for the animals (and for us by producing healthier meat) but it is good for the land, too. We sat and talked through dinner, mesmerized, and all got very excited about this method of farming. I am SO not doing a good job of explaining this, but promise to do better later. In the meantime check out their website. We're hoping to host Greg here at the Mercantile to do a workshop on October 9th, 2010.

The Milkweed Mercantile Bar by candlelight

Last, but certainly not least, is the reception that our "bar" is receiving. We're currently holding Happy Hour Thursday - Sunday; we usually close at 9:00 but have been known to go as late as 10:00 p.m. Not exactly a wild time but a comfortable place to come and have a drink and chat with friends, new and old. After a week of rain we finally ran out of power and had to shut off the inverter (to save the batteries). So we lit a bunch of candles (many in beer bottles - Marth Stewart has nothing on us in the decor department!) and carried on. It was great fun. Anthony took the photo (above) from his phone while tending bar.

So things are good. Business continues to increase every day, and we are really enjoying ourselves. Life is fantastic!

Blog-a-thon for Dancing Rabbit

2010-03-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all! The Milkweed Mercantile is currently hosting a blog-a-thon to raise money for Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Inspiration for the event comes from Jeff McIntire-Strasburg of Sustainablog.org.

Dancing Rabbit's newest members, Dennis and Sharon demonstrate the pedal-powered computer as Dan and Tony McGuyver with the controls. In the foreground, Nathan and Jeff.

Juan, Dan, Sheila and Sharon play cards.

Dan pedals to power the computer. Sharon supervises.

Papa Bear, Zane and Alyssa.

No Impact Man - Let's all have no impact!

2009-12-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

The following post was written for the Memphis (Missouri) Democrat, as part of a regular series on Dancing Rabbit.

Hi all. This is Alline with the latest news from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Things here at Dancing Rabbit are pretty much the same – folks coming home from holiday travel, others leaving for trips. Gatherings, dinners, and our first snowfall of the year – yay!

But what has been on my mind most lately is movies. Last night we watched the documentary “Food, Inc.” It features two of my personal heroes; Michael Pollan, the author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (http://www.michaelpollan.com/), and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/). Among other things it focuses on the importance of small local farms, of being aware of where our food comes from, and just exactly what it in it.

I also previewed the documentary film “No-Impact Man” in preparation for this weekend’s free public screenings at the Milkweed Mercantile. I wasn’t sure what to expect – the film is billed as “Colin Beavan and his family turn their small Manhattan apartment into the site of an experiment in radical non-consumption.” They go off the grid for a full year—while still living in New York City—to see if it’s possible to make no net impact on the environment.

There are many parallels between the No Impact Project and Dancing Rabbit that, for me, elicited a kind of kindred admiration for the Beavans. While the project was, admittedly, a ploy for his next book, he genuinely wanted to learn how one person could make a difference. By doing so, he opened himself up to criticism and ridicule. No where in the movie or book does he suggest that others do what he is doing. But when the New York Times gets wind of the No Impact Project they write a sneering article, calling the project “an ethically murky exercise in self-promotion.”

Here at Dancing Rabbit we’ve spent countless hours with reporters and journalists, documentary makers and students – sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they completely miss the point. The New York Times focused on the Beavans’ lack of toilet paper (the article was entitled “The Year Without Toilet Paper”) while the Colbert Report honed in on DR’s composting toilets. The Beavans learned what members of Dancing Rabbit continue to learn – living one’s life in a demonstration community, willing to showcase both the successes as well as the challenges, is not for the faint of heart.

The evolution of Colin and Michelle’s marriage was much more entertaining that many soap operas; this also struck a bell of recognition. Michelle’s disdain for “nature” was hilarious, and reminiscent of the attitudes of many of our friends who don’t quite get why we’re living in rural Missouri.

About halfway through, the film takes a surprising turn. Colin starts to seem more humble and less domineering, and Michelle turns from whiny skeptic to good sport. The family bikes around the city and cooks organic food by candlelight, and the no-impact regimen mutates from family issue to family adventure. We get to watch Colin and Michelle deal with questions that we at Dancing Rabbit ask ourselves every day – how much of what we consume really adds value to our life vs. how much of it is filler, or worse, inhibits us from living our lives to the fullest? The Beavan family discovers that when they remove many things from their lives, they spend more time enjoying each other instead of wandering around the mall or staring at the television. They discover that eating locally and using human-powered transportation result in reversing pre-diabetes indicators and losing 20 pounds. They discover that their 2 year old daughter really enjoys gardening and the beach and riding on a bicycle. (One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Isabella sees fireflies for the first time.) Without No Impact Project they'd have missed out on all of those discoveries.

I think that in the end the movie presents us with a choice: instead of casting environmental activists as either hypocritical or self-righteous, are we able to watch the movie and then find a change in our own lives that will not only reduce our negative impact on society but also more positively impact our life? It could be more human-powered transportation, more local food, buying fewer new and more used goods, having things repaired instead of replaced, adjusting that thermostat, improving one’s home to be more energy efficient, buying 100% green energy through the utility company, drinking less bottled water... or any other number of things. We all have the opportunity to make a choice: how will the world be better today because of our/your changes?

So come see for yourself. The movie will be shown at the Milkweed Mercantile at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage Friday, December 11th at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday, December 13th at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free. For directions please call 883-5634.

The Milkweed Mercantile has donated a copy of both the “No Impact Man” book and film to the Scotland County Library in Memphis.

The Milkweed Mercantile Hosts Its First Event!

2009-11-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

The weekend of October 23rd the Milkweed Mercantile hosted its first event. We're not quite ready for prime time (we cooked the food in our house and hauled it over to the Mercantile) but it was a fantastic "dress rehearsal" and a lot of fun.

The stage was set - Danielle and Mary Beth (along with Ramin Rahamian, who took the photos here) arranged leaves, pods and stalks of locally-gathered vegetation and candles on the mantle. The table, set up in the middle of the room, was set with with sterling flatware, more leaves and candles, while the store's merchandise took a back seat. A fire blazed in the fireplace, adding ambiance and warmth.

The party, hosted by Ma'ikwe Schaub Ludwig, was a surprise 60th birthday bash for her husband Laird. Two of his sisters, a nephew, his daughter and a pair of friends all traveled from out of state to be here. Also attending the party were members of Dancing Rabbit and Red Earth Farms.

First we served dinner and dessert, then it was time for Laird to open his gifts.

Ooooohhhhhh!

Telling stories...

The next day, Saturday, the Mercantile catered a picnic lunch out at Ma'ikwe's house (which is currently under construction). Saturday evening we were back in the Mercantile space with two cakes (a maple cake and a vegan carrot cake) for 30.

I promise, I was never going to stab Laird with the knife, in spite of what it looks like below:

It was a fabulous weekend. Laird & Ma'ikwe's guests were incredibly gracious and an absolute delight. Mary Beth proved herself to be a divine bartender, and Danielle impressed us all with her skills in the kitchen. I am excited to know that not only did we pull it off, but there were no disasters, mishaps or even fumbles. Our Field of Dreams staffing method ("if you build it, they will come") seems to be paying off. And in March our chef comes, and the whole thing will really take off.

We look forward to hosting YOU at a future event - heck - we can hardly wait!

Aligning My Nose With My Values

2009-09-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Alienmeatsack on Flickr

It’s no secret that I love hankies.

Granted, I used to think they were tremendously un-cool. My only positive hanky experience was my friend Denise. She carried them in her purse all during high school and didn’t suffer any diminution of coolness. Somehow she made them coordinate with her platform shoes and micro minis (it was the 70’s).

Photo Credit: KellyandApril on Flickr

But to me, hankies were for grandmothers, or really old people. To many of the people currently at Dancing Rabbit, I qualify for the latter, but I digress.

Photo Credit: Rufus Mangrove on Flickr

Seven reasons I love hankies:

I have allergies and so always seem to need one
Paper tissues have a tendency to shred after one little blow. Euuwww.
If I accidentally leave a paper tissue in a pocket of something that goes through the wash, ALL of the clothes in that load are covered with a plethora of little white fibers.
Puppies, movies, and a perfect crème brulee make me cry. It is good to be prepared (I was a girl scout, after all).
Hankies are way more eco than blowing one’s nose on trees.
When you hang a hanky outside to dry after laundering, you get to inhale the smell of sunshine the next time you use it.
Men shouldn't get to have all the fun!

Photo Credit: Vanigliavvelenata_two on Flickr

What brought on this current hanky rant? The Milkweed Mercantile is debuting our own line of Organic Cotton Flannel Hankies. Unable to find any reasonably-priced organic cotton hankies, I decided that it was time for the sisters to do it for ourselves. So our Artisan Co-op purchased fabric, a serger and now we’re in business. Meadow has become Mighty Queen of the Serger, and we’re all quite pleased with ourselves. Our hankies are not machine-perfect; they are hand-guided through a serger by a real live person (in this case, Meadow), and may reflect an occasional less-than-precise corner. However, we consider this part of their charm; we think you will, too.

Soft, organic hanky, available only from the Milkweed Mercantile

Meadow makin' hanky magic

So check ‘em out. And if you don't want to buy hankies, you can easily make your own - all you need is some soft fabric and a sewing machine to zig-zag around the edges. Heck, if you're not fussy, you don't even need a sewing machine!

Please consider using fabric hankies instead of paper tissues. The trees and your grandmother would approve.

The Art of Kelsey Viola

2009-09-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Rooted Hands by Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen
All rights reserved fabric stretched on wood bars
21 1/2" x 38"
$400

One of the great joys of running the Mercantile is getting to know folks like Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen. Kelsey is a good friend of Rabbit Mary Beth; when MB approached me and said "my friend Kelsey has some cool art you might like" I eagerly agreed to take a look. I am so happy that I did - not only is her art amazing, but Kelsey is herself a delight.

We currently have two of Kelsey's "paintings" up in the Mercantile. The most awe-inspiring thing is that they're not paintings at all - they are entirely done in fabric and thread. Kelsey "paints" with her sewing machine. It is really fun, when someone says "oh, what a beautiful painting" to encourage them to go take a closer look, and then listen to the gasps of astonishment.

Single Hand by Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen
All rights reserved fabric stretched on wood bars
34" x 22"
$400

detail of above

Reaching Hands by Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen
All rights reserved fabric stretched on wood bars
34" x 22"
private collection

We will be having a show of many more of Kelsey's pieces in November. Included will be a series of native prairie plants made out of fabric, including some morel mushrooms. Monsanto wanted to purchase the mushrooms and commission Kelsey to do a series of their plants - she politely declined. All this talent and ethics, too!

Morel Mushrooms
Price TBD in November

If you are interested in receiving an announcement of the opening, please sign up for the Mercantile's Once-In-a-Blue-Moon Newsletter here.

Kelsey at her BFA presentation at Truman State in Kirksville, MO.

If you are an artist with work that might be appropriate for a future Milkweed Mercantile show - nature, prairie, ecology or other themes - please contact me at alline at milkweedmercantile dot com - I'd love to chat!

The Math School I Attended

2009-09-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

I don't really enjoy math. Perhaps if I were in school today, where girls are encouraged to be good in math, it might be different. But I came of age in the innovative 60's in California, and was part of several experimental programs, including the very dreadful "new math."

I went on to flunk high school algebra twice - I just did not understand how, if "Y" could be anything, one came up with the correct answers. And "X" plus "Y"? What was "X"? What was "Y"? It was just too nebulous, surreal, and annoying for me. It was as if Salvador Dali had created a system of thinking; one which made no sense and gave one a stomach ache.

This is one of the reasons I find it very amusing to be in business. I love the creative aspects, but the actual business-y stuff? I'm dreadful to the point of hysteria. I take great comfort in my BFFs Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Lou's arguments make perfect sense to me!

Calling Your Business Green Doesn't Make It So

2009-09-14T19:23:00.001-07:00

A bad photograph of my beautiful business cards.

The Milkweed Mercantile is a proud member of Green America. Someday, when we get all components of the business up and running, we'll have that little Green America icon on our home page. Until then, I pay my annual dues, read the material, and follow along on the Green America Green Business Network email posts.

A recent post was a request for a green printer. I am happy for this opportunity to sing the praises of a truly green printer, to cheer on those who are striving to "do it right" and to vent about a huge pet peeve.

I have a lot of "green" friends, who are doing their darndest to run "green" businesses. But it always strikes me as odd when they ask me for a "cheap green printer" or, even worse, a "cheap" printer. As in, "My green values are important until it comes to my wallet, and if no one knows that I used a cheap (i.e. non-union, non-ecologically sound) printer, well, that's OK!"

When I was a kid my mom used to tell me "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well." At the time I rolled my eyes, but I think she was on to something. We'll never change the world by taking shortcuts on the things that might not show.

When it came time to have business materials for the Mercantile printed, I chose to go with Consolidated Printing in Chicago (another Green America member). On the back of my card I requested a union bug, a women owned business logo, and a Printed Green logo. It is important to me that those I do business with are clear about my standards and hopefully, my integrity.

Consolidated was a breeze to work with - we are located in rural Northeast Missouri, and handled all transactions easily by phone and internet. The jobs were printed beautifully and delivered early. I may not always get it right, but in this instance, I think I did. Here's to Green America and its members, working hard to change the world by changing the way the world does business!

September 15th Addendum: Thanks to all of those who emailed regarding green printers. There are a number of EXCELLENT green printers everywhere, doing fine printing work and ecological activism. If you are in the Rochester, New York area, I recommend calling Monroe Litho - they really walk their talk! They are the first SGP (Sustainable Green Printer) in the Northeast and belong to FSC, SFI. They run on 100% wind power and constantly strive to make their"foot print" smaller and recycle everything. Yay!

Havin' Some Fun Now! The Mercantile Adventure Continues...

2009-09-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

The fireplace, the gorgeous woodwork, Kelsey's artwork and some prairie wildflowers.

Oh, we're having so much fun at the Mercantile! The store is open for business, and as we cycle through some of the older merchandise (purchased last year when I got way ahead of myself!) new exciting stuff is coming in. As soon as it's up on the website I'll talk about it here. In the meantime, be sure to check the Sale section of the Mercantile online store - we're marking stuff down in a serious way and are adding new items every week.

When in doubt, improvise. This is our BYOBag display, featuring bags made of recycled cotton, organic cotton, recycled plastic bags, recycled plastic bottles, and hemp.
What's not to love?

And the work on the upstairs is so, so beautiful. Tom has refinished and varnished all of the floors, and Bob, Kurt and French are crafting the most beautiful stairway, with balusters, newel posts and all kinds of things I never ever considered before. I mean, who really looks at staircases? You go up, you go down, you try not to fall. But now, we've become obsessed. When Kurt and I are watching movies on DVD, we often have to rewind because we're so busy looking at staircases in the scenes that we miss the dialog. Sheesh.

The staircase, still in progress. On the right, under the stairs, is Innkeeper Amy's Harry Potter-esque office. All of the woodwork was hand-crafted - no kits from Home Despot or Lowe's...

View from the landing, newel posts and plinths (oooh, there's another good word!) under construction.

One of my favorite parts of the building is the downstairs bathroom door. Like much of the building, it has a story. Kurt's late dad, Clyde, used to always call the bathroom "the library." As in "I'm going to the library for a few minutes." So when I found this door shoved behind a pile of chairs at the Ewing School auction, I knew that I had to take it home. We got it for $1. Once polished it will be as good as new. We will, of course, construct a curtain for privacy. And the Clyde Kessner Memorial Bathroom will then be open for guests, librarians and otherwise.

In Support of Van Jones

2009-09-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: While searching for information other than my own experience, I found Greening The Ghetto by Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker . Italicized text below is from this article.)

In 2007 I had the opportunity to hear Van Jones speak at Co-op America (now Green America) Green Business Conference in Chicago. He spoke of his goal of bringing environmental principles to the rescue of urban communities – have you ever noticed how dirty, polluting industries are often located in the “poor” (i.e. black, Hispanic & immigrant) parts of cities? That “job training” programs train young people for these same toxic and polluting industries (which are also being out-sourced in record numbers)?

I also appreciated when he pointed out that the green movement will not succeed if it is only affluent white people (98% of the room was white). If we don’t bring people of color along with us, as equals, the green movement is doomed. As green entrepreneurs we had a responsibility and an opportunity to really make a difference.

He spoke of his time at Yale, Jones saw a lot of things that disturbed him. One was the video of the Rodney King beating, which took place during his second semester. Another was crime. “I was seeing kids at Yale do drugs and talk about it openly, and have nothing happen to them or, if anything, get sent to rehab,” he said. “And then I was seeing kids three blocks away, in the housing projects, doing the same drugs, in smaller amounts, go to prison.”

I was absolutely mesmerized. Articulate, insightful, charismatic and absolutely right on, I was on my feet at the end of his talk.

Fox News has suddenly discovered Van Jones, and is determined to bring him down. He is not saying what Fox News wants to hear. He is the antithesis of everything Fox stands for. He is an educated Black man, who speaks his mind, intelligently. He is working to bring all of us together, to flatten inequities, to change the planet. I am really disheartened by all of the hate speech surrounding him now, and the ecstatic crowing now that he has resigned from his White House appointment. I resent that racist Fox News and their followers lack the clarity and insight to see beyond their fears.

Yes Magazine, in Stand with Van Jones, a Real Patriot, has this to say:
"Van Jones has resigned, and the Obama administration has accepted his resignation. It's an extraordinary moment. Van was not accused of breaking the law, flouting the Constitution of the United States, accepting bribes, condoning torture or other violations of international law, or going on tax-payer funded junkets to conduct adulterous affairs. No, Van was brought down for a couple of things he later regretted saying over the course of an otherwise remarkable career.

Were the attacks really about the Color of Change petition to get advertisers to stop sponsoring Glenn Beck's program on Fox? Was it a case of taking down a rising star who had the audacity to lead while black? Or was it the opening round of the battle to come over clean energy/climate legislation? In any case, it's a sad day for America and for the Obama administration."

Since when is being a revolutionary in America a BAD thing? Seems to me our country was founded by revolutionaries...

The modern environmental movement is sometimes said to have begun in the eighteen-nineties, when John Muir founded the Sierra Club, and sometimes in the nineteen-sixties, when Rachel Carson published “Silent Spring.” Muir and Carson saw themselves fighting narrow, private interests on behalf of the public in the broadest possible sense—all people, including those who had not been born. But stop by a meeting of any of the major environmental groups, and you will see that the broad American public has yet to join up. Chances are that most of the attendees will be white, and the few who aren’t will be affluent and middle-aged. A 2006 study commissioned by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental-law group, found that the “ecological base”—defined as Americans who report the environment as being central to their concerns—is “nearly ninety percent white, mostly college-educated, higher-income, and over thirty-five.”

“Your goal has to be to get the greenest solutions to the poorest people,” Jones told me. “That’s the only goal that’s morally compelling enough to generate enough energy to pull this transition off. The challenge is making this an everybody movement, so your main icons are Joe Six-Pack—Joe the Plumber—becoming Joe the Solar Guy, or that kid on the street corner putting down his handgun, picking up a caulk gun.”

“I think Van Jones is a big part of the future of environmentalism,” Gus Speth, the dean of Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told me. “He, more than anyone else, is bringing together a concern about the environment and a concern about social justice. And, if I had just one thing to say, it is that we in the environmental movement cannot fail Van Jones.”

But don’t take my word for it. Make your own decision.

The Re:Visionary Project – Van Jones from Urban ReVision on Vimeo

The Writer's Almanac Brightens My Day

2009-08-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love The Writer's Almanac. Each day I open my email box, and amid the sales pitches, announcements of Dancing Rabbit meeting topics, the occasional note from a friend and the endless tasks to be added to my to-do list, is The Writer's Almanac.

Published daily, it consists of a poem and then snippets about the lives of authors appropriate to the day. Here is today's poem:

Whirlpool

by George Bilgere

In the morning, after much delay,
I finally go down to the basement
to replace the broken dryer belt.

First I unbolt the panels
and sweep up the dust mice and crumbling spiders.
I listen to the sounds of the furnace
thinking things over
at the beginning of winter.

Then I stretch out on the concrete floor
with a flashlight in my mouth
to contemplate the mystery
of the pulley-tensioner assembly.

And finally, with a small, keen pleasure,
I slip the new belt over the spindle, rise,
and screw everything back together.

Later, we have a birthday dinner
for my wife's grandmother, who is dying
of bone cancer. Maybe,
if they dial up the chemo, fine tune the meds,
we'll do this again next year.

But she's old, and the cancer
seems to know what it's doing.
Everyone loves her broccoli casserole.
as for the cake, it sits on the table,
a small brown mountain we can't see beyond.

That night I empty the washer,
throw the damp clothes in the dryer.
For half an hour my wife's blouses
wrestle with my shirts
in a hot and whirling ecstasy,

because I replaced an ancient belt
and adjusted the pulley-tensioner assembly.

"Whirlpool" by George Bilgere. © George Bilgere. Reprinted with permission.

How fabulous is THAT! I love being able to take five minutes out of my morning to experience the joy of words, to feel emotions conveyed by those who took the time to craft their feelings into a tangible, sharable package.

Today is the late Frank McCourt's birthday. What a writer he was! Read this snippet:

"People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying school masters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years. Above all — we were wet."

Is that not a perfect paragraph? It is the book Angela's Ashes in a nutshell. (Have you not read it? You MUST!)

That's it for now. I have four dozen ears of sweet corn to do something spectacular with. What I'd really like to do is steam them all and sit down with a cube a butter, a salt shaker and a big napkin and pig out...but maybe 48 ears is too much even for me! Thanks for stopping by.

How I Learned to Love Rechargeable Batteries

2009-08-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Until just recently I have considered rechargeable batteries to be a big pain in the, um, neck. I used them, but reluctantly. They did not last very long, needed increasingly more recharging, and were just plain annoying. They were especially problematic with my digital camera – they seemed to last only a day or so before needing recharging. I am clearly not the most patient person in the world, but they made living a more sustainable life feel like a hardship rather than a good thing.

However, this past spring the heavens parted, the angels sang and the answer to all of my battery prayers came to me in the form of eneloop Rechargeable Batteries from Sanyo.

I love them. They come fully charged, which is incredibly convenient. They last a long, long time – I’ve had two in my camera for weeks now, and have still not had to recharge it. And unlike their large, cumbersome predecessors, the rechargers are small and compact – they smaller than the size of a pack of playing cards. Yes, they're a bit more expensive (as a comparison a Duracell AA 8-pack retails for $26.00, and the eneloop 8-pack retails for $40.00). At first glance, this seems gulp-worthy. However, I fully expect my eneloop batteries to last me YEARS, instead of the weeks or even days of the Duracell. I'll keep you posted on how these batteries work for me. They're still new on the market (just came out in spring '09) and so NO ONE has had them for very long.

Another couple of cool features: they have "D Spacer" set, which means that you do not have to buy additional "D" batteries. Once you have the spacers you can use your AA batteries instead of "D"s. Gotta love that!

Even better, the chargers fit both AA and AAA. There is even a USB charger to plug into your computer.

I like these eneloop batteries so much I feel confident about selling them in the Milkweed Mercantile. (NOTE: This site does not carry any advertising – I want you to know that I am not being paid to endorse a product, and to be able to trust what you read here. But when I find something that I really like, I feel compelled to share the information.) As soon as we have them up on the Mercantile store site I'll post the link.

But Back to Reality...
Rechargeable batteries are still batteries, though, and need to be disposed of responsibly. The Milkweed Mercantile will be accepting eneloop batteries for recycling when they reach the end of their productive lives. For those who are not in the immediate Scotland County area, the battery industry sponsors the operations of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation which will direct you to the nearest battery recycling or drop-off point.

The following information is from info.com and written by E Magazine’s Earth Talk. I have double-checked the links, eliminated the ones that were either inappropriate or non-functional, and edited for length.

Today’s common household batteries—those ubiquitous AAs, AAAs, Cs, Ds and 9-volts from Duracell, Energizer and others—are not thought to pose as great a threat to properly equipped modern landfills as they used to because they contain much less mercury than their predecessors. As a result, most municipalities now recommend simply throwing such batteries away with your trash.

Battery Disposal or Recycling? Nevertheless, environmentally concerned consumers might feel better recycling such batteries anyway, as they still do contain trace amounts of mercury and other potentially toxic stuff. Some municipalities will accept these batteries (as well as older, more toxic ones) at household hazardous waste facilities, from which they will most likely be sent elsewhere to be processed and recycled as components in new batteries.

How to Recycle Batteries Other options abound, such as the mail-order service, Battery Solutions http://www.batteryrecycling.com/, which will recycle your spent batteries at a cost of 85 cents per pound. the national chain, Batteries Plus, is happy to take back disposable batteries for recycling at any of its 255 retail stores coast-to-coast.

Older Batteries Should Always Be Recycled Consumers should note that any old batteries they may find buried in their closets that were made before 1997—when Congress mandated a widespread mercury phase-out in batteries of all types—should most surely be recycled and not discarded with the trash, as they may contain as much as 10 times the mercury of newer versions.

The Problem of Rechargeable Batteries Perhaps of greater concern nowadays is what’s happening to spent rechargeable batteries from cell phones, MP3 players and laptops. Such items contain potentially toxic heavy metals sealed up inside, and if thrown out with the regular garbage can jeopardize the environmental integrity of both landfills and incinerator emissions. Luckily, the battery industry sponsors the operations of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), which facilitates the collection of used rechargeable batteries collected in an industry-wide “take back” program for recycling.

Additional Battery Recycling Options Consumers can help by limiting their electronics purchases to items that carry the RBRC logo on their packaging. Furthermore, they can find out where to drop off old rechargeable batteries (and even old cell phones) by calling RBRC’s hotline at 1-800-8BATTERY or by visiting the online drop location finder at RBRC.org. Also, most Radio Shack stores will take back rechargeable batteries and deliver them to RBRC free-of-charge. RBRC then processes the batteries via a thermal recovery technology that reclaims metals such as nickel, iron, cadmium, lead and cobalt, repurposing them for use in new batteries.

Pushing Gravy Uphill...

2009-07-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Kurt putting the finishing touches on the bay window.

...is finally paying off! Yesterday, with a bunch of smiling volunteers, we moved most of the Mercantile merchandise into the store. Let me repeat that. WE MOVED THE MERCANTILE MERCHANDISE INTO THE STORE! Whooeeee! Kurt and I can walk in the bedroom now, without scooting along sideways between boxes like crazy people. We're hoping to have a "soft" opening on Friday after dinner - by soft we mean that we're just opening the doors and inviting Rabbits in for a little looksee. I'll post more pictures as I get displays done.

Food Matters - Green Mom's Carnival for July 2009

2009-07-13T10:57:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: zach kowalczyk on flickr

Food. It is my passion. I like cooking food, eating food, thinking about food, and reading about food. I read cookbooks for fun, and have made many new friends in restaurants after staring unabashedly at their plates. There is nothing better than cooking a hearty and healthy meal for friends and sharing it over good conversation. And while I was horrified to find out that all of those delicious photos of food that I had been drooling over online were actually referred to as "food porn," I could not stop looking!

We, as Americans, are at a crossroads, foodwise. We can continue to be taken for a ride by corporate agriculture OR we can take control and say "enough." WE CAN BE POWERFUL. Every single time you purchase produce from a local farmer's market instead of produce flown in from, say, Chile, you are taking a step in the right direction. Every time you avoid purchasing commercially prepared food with high-fructose corn syrup you score one for the good guys. Every time you let grocery store managers know what you will (and will not purchase) you make a difference. It is not only your right, it is your responsibility. There are lots of ways to make a difference. Many are included in this month's Green Mom's Carnival posts below.

Stepping off my soapbox, I'll make room for others to spout off, encourage, and share their truths. Thanks to all who participated!

Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green starts us off with two great must-see movies, King Corn and Food Inc., and a reminder that every one of us can make a difference. Watch the trailer for Food Inc. at Retro Housewife; King Corn is available from Netflix. Best enjoyed with non-GMO popcorn, organic butter and sea salt. But I digress...

Anna at Green Talk shares many ways to get local healthy food into your family's diet. Also included: inspirational photos of her garden and encouragement for all. Gorgeous!

Lynn over at Organic Mania, and Maryanne at Not Quite Crunchy Parent both have a bone to pick with the USDA and the growing ambiguity of terms like "organic" and "natural." How on earth are mere mortals to unravel the secret code and know what is really what? Lynn and Maryanne can help.

Jennifer at The Smart Mama reminds us of the joy that children find in fresh grown food, and that growing our own is often possible - what a great place to start! Fresh blueberries 1, Lunchables, 0!

Jammies and Jam are on Renee's mind at Enviromom. Yes we can!

And speaking of fresh delicious food, the post at the Green Phone Booth, where ordinary women become eco-heroes, features photos that make me happy AND hungry.

Katy at Non-Toxic Kids reminds us that organic by itself isn't necessarily the answer, and confesses her difficulty in "steering clear of the frozen and canned organic foods that call to me-- "no cooking! look, we are organic, we must be healthy!" Even better, after reading her post I vowed to forgo my daily Dr. Pepper (speaking of eco-guilt) and go out to the garden and harvest some kale for dinner.

Mindful Momma gives us just the nudge we need - it is up to each of us to help ensure that our food systems are safe. Click here to read her post, and to take (easy!) action supporting the Organic Consumer's Association, and get info on farm and food issues.

Beth at Fake Plastic Fish provides some (organic, wholesome and plastic-free) food for thought about food packaging. Because really, don't you find it a teensy bit ironic that organic food comes wrapped/encased/surrounded/bagged in plastic? Arrrrggghhhh!

Diane and her Big Green Purse take on Pepsi, Eco-Fina and disposable plastic bottles. Because woman doesn't live by food alone. Yay Diane!

Karen at The Best of Mother Earth reminds us why we eat, and garnishes her post with some encouragement and practical advice.

Fabulous Ruchi of Arduous Blog continues to be the voice of reason, the burning bush, the spirit of sanity in a sea of orgasmic (but organic!) desserts and sweet things. Defending balance in the eco-blogosphere, she is calling for blog posts about healthy food, which while possibly less exciting, are much more real. I've got that writing assignment on my list for tomorrow!

And last but certainly not least, Lisa at Condo Blues is looking for ideas for her abundant mint harvest. Click and help her out!

Thanks for joining us!

Alline 1, Lyme's Disease 0

2009-07-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Just reporting in that I do NOT have Lyme's Disease. See the details at Ecovillage Musings: Doxycycline, or Alline Opens a Big Can o' Whup Ass.

Dances With Ticks

2009-07-08T17:27:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I returned to Dancing Rabbit from the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair ebullient, ecstatic, enraptured and just plain happy with the reception that both Dancing Rabbit and the Milkweed Mercantile had received.

People walked up to our table and a smile just spread across their faces. “Wow,” they sighed, “you have such lovely stuff.”

I had to agree. I have spent three years researching, thinking, writing, and obsessing about the perfect combination of merchandise. Products that are more than mere “stuff.” I wanted to make sure that everything would be durable, last a long time, be more than worth the money spent, be made by people who were paid a fair wage (or at least owned the business). I had spent months on Etsy looking for artisans with ethics, and had been gratified to find an abundance of talent and heart out there looking for a place to shine. I found many women-owned and SAHM businesses which I am thrilled to support, and people doing incredible things with reclaimed resources. When the only organic cotton flannel hanky producer decided she was not interested in selling wholesale any longer I hunted down the fabric and bought a serger to make the hankies myself. And I haunted auctions to build my stash of vintage hankies for my personal campaign to make the laundering of hankies (instead of the disposal of tissues) a way of life again.

But within a week I was in bed. I woke up achier than I had ever been, had an on-and-off fever, an inability to stay neither awake nor vertical, and absolutely no appetite. In six days I lost ten pounds. The doc, given the info he had, could only diagnose a vague virus, and proscribe Tylenol and sleep. Then late Saturday night, lying in bed sweating with fever while under the wind-tunnel of a ceiling fan on ‘high,’ I noticed that while all of my skin felt cool and clammy, an area behind my left knee felt warm, and a bit tender. Unable to sleep, for that moment anyway, I crawled out of bed, went downstairs, hauled out a full-length mirror and took a gander.

When they say “bulls eye” when talking Lyme’s disease diagnosis they are not kidding. There on the back of my leg, in brilliant Technicolor, was a 6-inch-wide blazing bull’s eye. I felt relieved and pissed off at the same time – relieved that I finally knew what was wrong with me, and pissed off that it was most likely Lyme’s disease.

The next morning Kurt took me to the ER, where test were taken, educated guesses made, and antibiotics proscribed. After just one pill I was able to sit upright for over an hour for the first time in almost a week. The exhaustion lifted, and I could not stop eating. (So much for my unexpected weight-loss program!). So while I do have some sort of disease (we won’t know which one until the tests come back) I at least know what is wrong, and that it can be fixed. Everything I’ve read online verifies that early treatment almost always takes care of it.

And once again I’ve come to appreciate my health, and my life. While lying in bed day after day feeling absolutely awful, unable to do anything but doze and think I couldn’t help but remember my friends and loved ones who have gone before. Marcia at 25, Carter at 40, Jess at 47, Cindy at 50, on and on and on. Lots of pain, lots of suffering. Soon my little bout of tick-ness will be neatly cleared up. I’m almost back on my feet, and am struggling to feel worthy. It’s an odd sort of survivor’s guilt I suppose – why do I get to be here? What worthwhile things can I accomplish on behalf of those I’ve loved who did not get as much time? I’m still working on it. In the meantime I'm taking lots of naps. More soon!

MIdwest Renewable Energy Fair

2009-06-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

The Mercantile made its debut at this year's Midwest Renewable Energy Fair. It was a great success! It was especially gratifying to see all the little items that I have been obsessing about for the last two years sell, and sell well. We sold out of stainelss steel screens for spouts and the organic cotton/hemp un-paper towels. Vintage hankies did very well (my personal campaign continues) as did Klean Kanteens. We met some incredible people, and made a lot of really good connections for future seminars to be held at the Mercantile. I'll fill in more details later!

Creativity, Courage, and Forgetting to Drop Your PomPoms

2009-05-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning, at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m., I am off to the train station in Quincy, Il. From there I go to Chicago ("...my kind of town, Chicago is..."). On Saturday morning, at 9:25 a.m. I will be standing in front of three (or so) editors of Country Living Magazine, trying desperately to explain the fabulousness of the Milkweed Mercantile. After my two minutes, they have three minutes to ask questions. They will choose five or six women entrepreneurs to be featured in the magazine.

I am so torn. A part of me feels supremely confident, fearless, brave and excited - this is the part of me who loves microphones, public speaking, sharing ideas and being the center of attention. But the other part of me, the part who forgot to drop her pompoms during cheerleader tryouts (at age 15) and then promptly burst into tears, is a bit worried. How to tap into the first, but not the second? How to honor the foiled cheerleader while embracing the woman I've become?

To me, the Mercantile is a wonder. Each day something new is finished, and we get closer to being open, and I am so excited that I practically jump up and down and clap my hands. I did a mock-up of a display for photos to bring along this weekend (since the building isn't exactly finished, I chose to feature bits and pieces...) and had so much fun doing it I thought my heart would burst.

But how to convey this in two short minutes? If my "product" were, oh, I don't know, a new kind of stapler, two minutes would feel plentiful and abundant. Two minutes for the Mercantile feels inadequate, miserly and impossible.

I've written and rewritten my 2-minute pitch, but was feeling totally stymied the other night. Kurt and Sparky happend to be there as I was melting down, and both suggested I listen to Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk.

I did, and promptly burst into tears. This is the part I especially love:

I had this encounter recently where I met the extraordinary American poet Ruth Stone, who’s now in her 90’s, but she’s been a poet her entire lie and she told me that when she was growing up in rural Virginia, she would be out working in the fields, and she said she would feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape. And she said it was like a thunderous train of air. And it would come barreling down at her over the landscape. And she felt it coming, because it would shake the earth under her feet. She knew hat she had only one thing to do at that point, and that was to, in her words, “run like hell.” And she would run like hell to the house and she would be getting chased by this poem, and the whole deal was that she had to get to a piece of paper and a pencil fast enough so that when it thundered through her, she could collect it and grab it on the page. And the other times she wouldn’t be fast enough, so she’d be running and running and running, and she wouldn’t get to the house and the poem would barrel through her and she would miss it and she said it would continue on across the landscape, looking, as she put it “for another poet.”

I want to be there to catch the poem. I want to not miss my creativity as it goes barreling across the prairie. I want to be wise enough and prescient enough and present enough to grab it and share it with these editors, so that they can see what we are doing out here.

So Saturday, at 9:25, please stop for a second and send positive thoughts towards Chicago. I'll be waiting there, to grab them, and share.

Eco Goes Mainstream - International Home & Housewares Show

2009-05-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Recycled glass glasses from EuroCeramica.

Where does the time go? It's been over a month since I returned home from the Home & Housewares Show in Chicago.

What a great four days that was!

Topping off my experience was the opportunity to be on a panel of retailers discussing The Green Gourmet: Merchandising Green in a Gourmet Housewares Setting--What Works and What Doesn't. The three panelists were various shades of green, ranging from extremely customer-service oriented, green-if-it-sells Dominic Cimilluca of Dominic’s Kitchen Store, a traditional gourmet housewares store to way, WAY green (that would be me). In the middle was Maria Ornesto-Moran of Green Home Experts, who tries to lead her customers to greener options in her fabulous Oak Park, Illinois store, specializing in all things green for your home, from cleaning products to paint. Thoughtfully moderated by Bill McLoughlin of Gourmet Insider Magazine it was a fascinating look at how the cooking industry is slowly but oh-so-surely ooching it's way into the world of true sustainability. To listen, click here.

This is the Oatmeal Brulee from breakfast at the Hyatt. At the risk of sounding a bit naive, I thought it was a really cool idea!

In addition to the microphone aspect (which, as you may know, is my idea of a good time!), it was really fun and thought-provoking. I so enjoy speaking about the Mercantile and sustainable business, and am passionate about being able to share my ideas. Bill's questions led us down a very interesting path, and brought up all kinds of new ideas for me. It is also a really fun interacting with the audience, and I love practicing thinking on my feet. Trying to convey the many layers and facets of sustainability felt challenging and creative. Like most things in life, there are so many shades of gray, but a few key points stand out:

1. First of all, do you really need to purchase something new?

2. If you decide to purchase, consider investing in top quality goods and using them for decades. While a Le Creuset pot uses a lot of embodied energy to create, it will last FOREVER. This is so much more sustainable than a $5.99 "bargain" from WalMart that gets thrown in the landfill after a year.

3. Given a choice, choose the greener company. Granted, this is often VERY difficult - greenwashing is rampant! The good news is that many companies have certification that will help you determine if they're real or not. Take Bambu for example; on their website is a page that tells you all about their sustainability initiatives. They are members of 1% for the Planet, use certified organic bamboo, and have sustainable packaging. Additionally, they support Fair Trade practices (they are members of Green America) and take a socially responsible approach to business.

4. Ask questions, scrutinize the fine print, and use common sense - This Luminarc glassware display was shouting "GREEN" at the show. Upon closer inspection the product was glass, but not recycled glass. The box it came in was not made of recycled materials, it was merely "recycleable."

5. Which brings me to point number five: do we really need so many disposable, um, I mean recycleable products? No matter what they're made of, they're STILL disposable. It's time to return to bringing real plates to picnics instead of bamboo or compostable plates. Because, honestly, how many of those plates really get composted? Very few, I'd imagine.

Can you say "Greenwashing?" This product was supposedly green becasue it was glass, and came in a cardboard box that was recyclable. Wake up, Luminarc! This isn't going to cut it!

That's it for now. More soon on the very exciting, well-made, sustainably-sourced products from responsible companies that the Milkweed Mercantile will be bringing in. Thanks for reading!

What We Eat When We Eat Alone - A New Book by Deborah Madison

2009-04-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

One of the sheer, unadulterated joys of my life is eating fresh, beautifully-prepared food. This kind of food is the inspiration for the Milkweed Mercantile Organic Cafe, and I spend more time than I care to admit reading cookbooks, food magazines, food blogs, gardening blogs, and then trying all of the ideas out on Kurt and whichever friend happens to wander in (they, of course, keep telling me to "keep practicing!").

Because of this food fetish, one of the publications I delight in is the local version of Edible, which is called Edible Iowa River Valley. (Because we are just 15 miles south of Iowa, and about 200 to either St. Louis or Kansas City, it seemed the most appropriate version). I LOVE these people, the food they produce, the food they write about, and the passion with which they do it all.

What brought on all of this (above) Edible love blathering? On the latest email blast, the following video was featured. It is for Deborah Madison (her first cookbook, The Greens Cookbook, was written with Ed Espe Brown. Both are bright stars in the sustainable food galaxy).

What do YOU eat when you're alone? I laughed at how often bacon came up. I tend to gravitate towards breakfast (eggs & bacon), or comfort foods like homemade mac & cheese or tapioca pudding, eaten warm. Sometimes when I'm missing my mom I'll make a brown sugar sandwich (don't knock it 'til you've tried it - spread butter on two slices of bread, generously sprinkle with brown sugar, put 'em together and eat). I make a lot of cookies, but usually tire of them by the second one (thank goodness!).

Time to go finish up the homemade pizza - oh, so good! I think I'll put a couple of fresh asparagus spears on one of them...yummmmmm!

Earth Day 2009 - Let's Make a Difference!

2009-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Photo: Adam Schuster on Flickr

Ah, Earth Day. Created in the 70’s to raise awareness, it has morphed into another demon shopping holiday – or has it? As the host of the Green Mom’s Carnival for this Earth Day, I am delighted to share the insights of some very talented, thoughtful women. Always impressive, they continue to astonish me with the ways they look at the world, and how hard they are working to make it a better, and greener, place.

When I received an email notice from American Airlines suggesting that I celebrate Earth Day with a discounted international flight, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I was thrilled to read Jennifer Taggart’s (of The Smart Mama) post, which absolutely nails the nuttiness of Earth Day right on its pointed little head in A Cranky Rant on Earth Day. Long live cranky rants!

In 7 Kid-Friendly Ways to Celebrate Earth Day, Jenn Savedge of The Green Parent extorts us get outside, get dirty, and show our kids why this planet is worth protecting,.The best way to teach kids about going green is to help them fall in love with nature.

In a poignant and heartfelt post entitled Take Care of the Earth and Yourself on Earth Day, Anna Hackman of Green Talk reflects on the fragility of life, and turning inward to enjoy the beauty and simplicity of the Earth on such a special day.

Karen Hanrahan of Best of Mother Earth brings gratitude to the forefront in Dear Mother Earth: Thank You for Trees.

Lynn at Organic Mania inspires us to local action in Earth Day and Graham Crackers. Yes, you and I really CAN make a difference!

Beth at Fake Plastic Fish reports on those who have taken the pledge to use less plastic. There are so many ways to less your impact - check out some of these great ideas!

In Earth Day: Looking Back and Thinking Forward, Micaela at The Mindful Momma looks back on some of the eco-friendly changes that she’s attempted to make over the past year or so, admitting that while some have been more successful than others, all have been a learning experience. And isn’t that what it’s really all about?

Diane at Big Green Purse brings us Ten Low Cost, High Impact Ways to Celebrate Earth Day.
These are things that we all can, and must be doing!

The Green Superheroes at The Green Phone Booth (Where Ordinary Women Become Eco Heroes) present Earth Day is For Sharing, where letting their green show around the edges since last Earth Day have inspired people to change their non-green ways, with very non-preachy, creative methods.

Over at In Women we Trust Mary Hunt brings us Viva La Green Revolution! where she says: "Everything is changing for the sake of a better planet - politics, manufacturing, food production, construction, education, media... Everything is getting better, people are talking and nations are looking for ways to put down the guns and work together. That's something to celebrate and turn into your own personal battle cry." We should be so fortunate to have such women in charge of all of our revolutions!

Lisa at Retro Housewife shares a lovely video and a message of hope, while Lisa at Condo Blues double-teams us with both a happy-ending story and a giveaway of Dr. Bronner's soap (which, btw, is certified fair trade and packaged in bottles made of recycled plastic).

And last, but certainly not least, the oh-so-fabulous team of Jenn and Karina at Tiny Choices are campaigning to bring back the drinking fountain in their Earth Day Extravaganza.

Thanks for stopping by. Here's wishing that your own Earth Day is filled with nature, good thoughts and hope for the future.

The Blogosphere's Best and Brightest on Evil-Spawn-of-the-Devil Plastic

2009-04-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's time for the mid-April Green Mom's Carnival, hosted this month by the spunky and unwavering Beth at Fake Plastic Fish. Read what 19 of the best bloggers in the business (plus me, humbled at the company) have to say about plastic, here. You'll be glad you did. And thanks for checking in!

Enough with the plastic, already!

2009-04-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
—Yogi Berra

If you're reading this blog, you undoubtedly know that plastic is a plague. It is everywhere, and it isn’t going away. Ever.

It is time for me, you, and all of our friends to take action. Just say no to water bottled in disposable plastic bottles, and carry your own refillable bottle. Yes, this is sometimes (often) not the most convenient option. Plastic bottles never go away, the bottled water industry is unregulated (meaning that it is not tested and can be water from the tap at the bottleing plant) and costs from 240 to 10,000 times what you are paying for tap water. So save your cash, buy a filter and a Klean Kanteen.

And speaking of the plastic never going away, if you haven’t already, please watch this brief (7 minutes) Ted video featuring Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. It is absolutely fascinating, eye-opening, depressing and yet inspiring.

You and I and all of our friends and relatives can make a difference. Here are a few ideas:

Make a pledge to never again use plastic water bottles. Give reusable bottles like Klean Kanteens and Sigg bottles to everyone you know for birthdays and other holidays.
The same with soda bottles. If you’re going to drink soda, purchase it in aluminum cans rather than plastic bottles. Yes, the embodied energy that goes into producing a can is higher; however, the likelihood that the can will be recycled is much higher, too.
Stop plastic on land before it reaches the ocean – be responsible for your own plastic, and that of others. Pick it up when you see it, and make sure it gets into a garbage can somewhere.
No more plastic shopping bags. Bring your own reuseable bags.
Consider bringing your own reuseable produce bags, too. You can find some fantastic ones on Etsy.
Patronize only companies that use recycled plastic in their packaging. For example, Dr. Bronner’s products are packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. If your favorite product does not come in recycled plastic packaging, let the company know that you want it to. Change starts with you!
Consider plastic when shopping. Do you really need individually plastic-packed yogurt?
Consider making your own food instead of food that comes packaged in plastic: yogurt, mayonnaise, etc.
Use lists like this one when shopping. Perhaps what you’re looking for is made of recycled plastic – if we don’t support the companies using recycled materials they have little motivation to continue!

Working together we CAN make a difference. Now, go save the earth!

“Only we humans make waste that nature can’t digest.” ~ Captain Charles Moore, Algalita

Shampoo, Sunscreen and Cosmetics – Are You Safe?

2009-04-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

I’m not much of a make-up wearer. Even before taking up the Ecovillage lifestyle, it wasn’t very appealing. In high school I tried makeup once. But the foundation was gross (how did one manage to scratch one’s nose without wiping it all off?), the mascara smeared under my eyes no matter what brand I tried (and I tried many) and lipstick just plain tasted gross (I now know that it often contains lead – yum!). Why on earth would I want that on my face? I also tried to paint my nails, but jeez, the polish was always chipping, and I simply have too many other things to do besides sit around and wait for my nail polish to dry.

It makes sense that I met my husband on a backpacking trip, where there was more dust than blush. When we got married, our photographer suggested that I wear a bit of makeup for the photos – my friends had to put the makeup on me right before the wedding, and then it all went back into the bag, where it is still sitting, 12 years later…

But enough about that. I used to make product decisions with an eye towards ease of use and a smidgen of common sense. Since then, I’ve learned to read the labels. But what are we to do when the labels are misleading, or incomplete?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees the safety of personal care products in the U.S., but lacks basic authority needed to ensure that products are actually safe. The FDA cannot require companies to test products for safety before they are sold, does not systematically review the safety of ingredients and does not set limits for common, harmful contaminants in products. The FDA also does not require contaminants to be listed on product ingredient labels. As a result, consumers have no way of knowing if their products contain toxic contaminants.

I don’t know about you, but I find this troubling.

I have come to rely on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and their Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database. It is where I turn when I need to buy products for myself, and even more importantly, products for the Milkweed Mercantile. I trust EWG, and support their efforts. (NOTE: In an effort to be as transparent and ethical as possible, I purposely accept no advertising on either of my blogs.) I also support their Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is working to protect your health by eliminating the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems.

Some companies are making safer products today and striving for even greater improvements. More than 1,000 companies have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to replace hazardous chemicals with safe alternatives and to publicly report on their progress. I encourage you to support these companies.

As an adult, I have a choice about what I slather on my body. If I want to trade off having no dandruff for the scary stuff in, say, Neutrogena Shampoo, well then that's up to me. But kids depend on us to keep them safe.

Children’s bath products are often marketed as safe and gentle. However, laboratory tests commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found these products are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane – and, in many cases, both. These two chemicals, linked to cancer and skin allergies, are anything but safe and gentle and are completely unregulated in children’s bath products. To learn more and make your OWN decision about what you want to be bathing and shampooing your children with, click here to read No More Toxic Tub.

I don't use most major brands of shampoo and cleansers - there are many, many brands which use only non-toxic ingredients, have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, are affordable and really work. Why expose myself and my family to ingredients which have not been proven to be safe? Do some investigating before going shopping. Plug your favorite brands into the Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database and see what pops up. If it's good news, fantastic! If the results aren't so rosy, well, that's good too - becoming informed is the first step.

Good luck, and let me know if I can help!

Yay For Diane MacEachern and Her Big Green Purse!

2009-03-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

A BIG congratulations to Diane MacEahern of Big Green Purse (and fellow Green Mom's Carnival blogger). She is in the latest issue of Glamour Magazine as one of 70 "female eco-acheivers." I am so happy to see her amongst such august company - Rachel Carson would be proud!

Speed Posting from the Housewares Show

2009-03-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Super quick post. Am at the fabulous International Home & Housewares Show in equally fabulous Chicago. Today attended the Specialty Retailer's University; learned so much my brain is exploding (but in the best way possible).

Monday at noon (in the small theatre adjacent to the Specialty Retailer Consulting Sessions near booth #S42) I'll be leading a discussion regarding green business. Officially titled "Keeping Your Bottom Line Green," I'll be covering some of the following:

How to go green and actually enjoy it
How to tell the good guys from the “green-washers”
How to communicate the value of green products to customers
It all begins with you: setting an example for your customers and employees
Involving your community for maximum goodwill and customer loyalty

Then, on Tuesday morning (in the Housewares Design Theater, Level 3 Lobby, Lakeside Center, from 9:30 -10:20), I am on a panel sponsored by HomeWorld Business with the topic "The Green Gourmet" Merchandising Green in a Gourmet Housewares Setting." The panel will be moderated by the very knowledgeable Bill McLoughlin. Maria Ornesto Moran of Green Home Experts will also be on the panel.

It's an interesting position to be in. I'm very clear about how I want to do business and how I believe that business should be handled, which is apparent from the model that we are working hard to develop for the Mercantile (everyone making the same hourly wage, profit sharing, financial transparency, selling only ethically produced and environmentally sustainable products, not selling "stuff" just to make money, etc.). But in the world of bigger is better, selling more because one can, sourcing product as cheaply as possible from China - it is challenging and exciting to try to bridge the gap. I'm finding that people are much more interested in what we're doing at DR and at the Milkweed Mercantile now than they were ten or eight or even three years ago. We're riding the green wave, and I'm hoping that our authenticity will shine through.

If you are at the show, please stop by the Specialty Retailer Consulting Session area and ask for me - I'd love to chat!

Happiness is a Warm Microphone

2009-03-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. First, a big fat apology for my lack of posts. I'm learning the hard way (the only way I seem to learn lessons) that sustainablity is about more than lightbulbs and strawbales. I seem to have more balls in the air than I can juggle at one time; I've been taking turns ignoring one thing and then another. Not really the best plan; I often put myself last, and then come crashing down, exhausted.

So my new goal is a post or two a week, which I'm sure is all you have time to read anyway. And while I have your attention, please know I really appreciate that you are reading!

I am in Chicago for the International Home and Housewares Show, which begins Sunday. I am writing this from the 21st floor of the Merchandise Mart Holiday Inn - one can only sleep on friends' and relatives' couches so many times.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I am attending the Specialty Retail University. I attended last year and it literally changed my life - I learned SO MUCH, and met some amazing people. The fabulous woman who runs it, Joanne Stone-Geier, has become a friend and mentor. One of last year's presenters, Sue Reardon of The Growth Coach, has become a friend and my business coach, keeping me from freaking out as I launch the Mercantile. An architect who spoke last year, Joel Berman, sketched out a design for our store fixtures that was so perfect that we scrapped our old plan and implemented his immediately. I also had to opportunity to get to know Bill McLaughlin, the editor of Gourmet Insider Magazine.

All of this hobnobbing resulted in some exciting opportunities, two of which involve microphones, which as you know are on my Top Ten List of Favorite Things. On Monday I am hosting a noon seminar entitled "Keeping Your Bottom Line Green," and on Tuesday I am on a "Green Gourmet" panel moderated by Bill McLaughlin (if you're at the show, it's on Tuesday, March 24th, 9:30 a.m. in the Housewares Design Theaer, Level 3 Loby, Lakeside Center). Life is very, very good.

I've got to get some sleep - in order to get to Chicago from Dancing Rabbit I had to leave Rutledge at 4:30 a.m., catch a train in Quincy, Il. This got me here in time to get a haircut (actually, I had them all cut) and scope out the public transportation scene.

More tomorrow!

Take A Duck to Work Day

2009-03-17T07:24:00.001-07:00

Just received a newsletter from Pam at Purrfect Play (they make the beautiful, tough and SAFE pet toys out of organic fleece, organic catnip, and other good things).

In the newsletter she forwarded the story of Frank the Duck. This is really a good one. I wasn't able to stop smiling, which is just what I needed today!

More serious, or at least substantial, posts soon.

Green and Clean: There is No “Away”

2009-03-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sewage flowing to the sea. Photo credit Flickr Stones 55

When I learned that the topic of this month’s Green Mom’s Carnival is Green and Clean, I laughed out loud – this assumes that one actually does clean. And as everyone who knows me knows, cleaning is not exactly my strong suit.

But after thinking about it for a week, I do have something to add to the conversation:

There is no “away.” Everything that leaves our homes via the trash can, the recycle bin or the drains, goes SOMEWHERE. Which is why it really does make a difference what we use when we clean.

Here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage we have are not connected to a city/county sewage system. We do not have, as my poor sainted mother sobbed, palm dramatically placed on her forehead, “indoor plumbing.” We do have running water*, both hot and cold. But after it has been “used” it does not get washed/flushed away to a place where we no longer have to consider the consequences. Instead, we use other methods to disperse our grey water.**

Grey water from our home is piped into one of two shallow trenches filled with sand and gravel and topped with soil in a seldom-used part of our yard. Slowly, it percolates back into the earth. Because of this, we are mindful of what we use to clean. Elsewhere in the community other solutions are utilized - for example, grey water from the Dancing Rabbit Community Building goes into a constructed wetland shared with Skyhouse, where the water is filtered naturally by plants and eventually ends up in our cattail pond.

Over the years I have found that I have gravitated to cleaners that either smell good or not at all. Strong "fragrances" not only give me a headache they make me wonder what all that scent is trying to cover up. It is only in the last ten years as I have actually researched what is in my cleaning products that I realize that my instincts were right on. The lower on the "cleansing chain" the better.

Many of the products listed below are products that we sell in the Mercantile. While it seems that I am using this blog being a forum to sell merchandise, it is actually just the opposite. The Mercantile sells only products that I believe in, that I have used myself and trust. I figure I am a guinea pig for you all - many products have not made the cut. And while these are all my subjective opinions, I would never try to sell you something that I would not use myself...

For Scrubbing the sink and tub: I use Bon Ami . I love this stuff. My grandmother used it; as a child I considered it horribly old-fashioned. My mom used the much more modern Comet (did anyone else sing a camp song to the tune of “Bridge on the River Kwai” with the words “Comet, it makes your teeth so green, Comet, it smells like gasoline…”?). When I moved out on my own I switched back to Bon Ami, deciding that being old fashioned was far preferable than having to inhale whatever was in Comet. Now I know the reason I was so repelled. Comet contains stuff that I would not want to be sprinkling on my garden. Enough said.

Windows: Vinegar and water work really well - they can be mixed in a spray bottle or in a bucket, which ever you prefer - and wipe dry with either newspapers or old sheets. This combination leaves windows sparkly and gorgeous!

Floors: Downstairs we have a poured concrete floor. For this I first vacuum, then do a plain water mop, followed by a mop with a dilution of Orange Plus All-Purpose Household Cleaner and water. Also good Citrisolve. On our (reclaimed) wood floors upstairs I use Ecological Floor Soap with Linseed Oil.

Dishes: Oh dear, this is where I must expose my soft underbelly of eco-sin. I do not have a dishwasher (well, I do – her name is “Alline”). I have tried so, so many “green” dishwashing liquids and find them all appallingly inept. Nothing quite compares to Dawn, the great love of my life. I rationalize my use of Dawn by knowing that I don't use very much, and that everything else that I use is totally eco-groovy. Yes, it is still a rationalization, but it really does cut the grease. Nothing else I've tried (and I've tried many) works as well. I use washcloths that I crochet myself and Twist sponges - they are entirely compostable, and I love the loofah scrubbing surface.

For Laundry: I pretreat all stains with either Everyday Stain and Odor Remover (it works every bit as well as SHOUT, without the toxic smell or ingredients). For bloodstains I've found a brief soak in hydrogen peroxide works really well. Then it goes in the washer with either Soapnuts (these are VERY cool!) or Moon Works Laundry Soap. Moonworks is highly concentrated and so a little goes a long way. I like that in a laundry soap!

Then, of course, I hang my laundry out on the line to dry. Winter and summer. Really. It takes a bit longer in the winter, but eventually it all gets dry. And nothing, absolutely nothing smells as glorious as sheets dried in the sun and wind. A little slice of heaven.

Baking Soda is the other miracle ingredient - I use it in the cat box (along with Swheat Scoop litter) and scrub all kinds of things with it.

Enough of this. I feel that I do an adequate job, which is a step up from what I learned at my mother's knee: she kept the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the living room floor, and would dust it occasionally. When someone dropped in she would exclaim "oh! I was just about to vacuum!" This way, she never actually had to...

Do you know where YOUR cleaning leftovers go?

*We collect rainwater off of our roof and collect it in a 3,000-gallon concrete cistern under our house. We have an electrical pump that pulls the water from the cistern to the taps(sinks, bath tub & shower), running it through several filters. The water tastes divine. Our hot water comes from solar panels in the front of our house.

**Any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets, is called graywater . Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise 50-80% of residential "waste" water.

Organic Gardening: Lesson One - You Can Do This!

2009-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

This blog has become something like the old slumber party game Truth or Dare for me. By choosing to live in an ecovillage that is open to the public and deliberately demonstrating sustainbility my life has become an open book. By having a blog I am taking this book, previously read by a few dozen people each year, and broadcasting it on the internet for the whole wide world to see.

I find this a bit daunting.

But I believe in truth in advertising, and it only seems fair that if I am promoting Organic Gardening and encouraging you all to have, if not a proper garden then at least a pot with a tomato plant, the least I can do is show you what I am doing here at Dancing Rabbit.

So I am posting photos of my "garden." I am hoping that rather than being appalled you will find it inspriational, and think "heck, if she can turn that into a garden, I can do anything!" Dear readers, I live to serve.

The photo above is of our "front yard." February is indeed bleak - the snow has melted, the soil is very muddy, and we have yet to glimpse the little green nubbins poking their heads out to signal the beginning of spring.

Our strawbale house is to the left, out of camera range. The upright posts in cement footings at the left of the shot hold up our solar water heating panel, which provides hot water for our tub, shower, and sinks (kitchen & bathroom). In the center of the shot is our compost bin, which one day will be painted and have climbing clematis all over it. To the right of the bins is our wood shed. Built entirely out of reclaimed materials, it too will someday be painted and covered with flowers. The shingles on the roof and sides, by the way, are scraps from the local pallet mill that Kurt cut to size.

But back to the garden itself. There are two beds, marked by sticks and covered with straw. While they look suspicously like graves (don't mess with the Rabbits!) they are, actually, my asparagus beds. Planted two summers ago, we finally get to harvest the stalks this year. I have melted butter waiting already.

Around these two beds I'll be prepping additional beds and planting other veggies and flowers.

Moving on the the other side of the yard:

In front of the solar panels is a now-invisible bed where I grew tomatoes, peppers and a few flowers last summer. I'll be expanding the bed, and planting the tomatoes and peppers elsewhere this year. To the right, out of camera range, is the Milkweed Mercantile. While it is hard to believe now, by the end of the summer this entire space will be green and filled with blooms and vegetables.

Your assignment this week:

1. Make a list of three vegetables you like - Fresh-from-the-garden-baby lettuce? Tomatoes? Sweet bell or hot anaheim peppers? Zucchini or delicata or spaghetti squash? spinach? Okra? Cucumbers? Carrots?

2. Now add a couple of herbs you'd like to try. Consider basil, cilantro, dill, peppermint, sage, oregano, thyme... If you need inspriation, check out a vegetarian cookbook. Two of my favorites are:

From Asparagus to Zucchini

The Gardener's Community Cookbook

3. Take a photo of where your garden will be. Is it covered in weeds? Fabulous. The "before" photos make your accomplishments all the more spectacular. And sometimes when you're in the middle of a project is is difficult to remember just how far you've come. So take a few photos. The uglier the better!

With your dream list and your garden area decided upon, we can start serious planning next week. See you then! (and if you still need seeds, check out our offerings here.)

In Support of Gay Marriage - To Our Friends, With Love

2009-02-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

"We know that, ultimately, love will prevail, no matter how hard they try to fight it."

Sign the petition (text printed below) by clicking here. Do it NOW. And pass it on!

Tell the Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8, reject Ken Starr's case, and let loving, committed couples marry. DEADLINE: Valentine's Day

"We, the undersigned, share President Barack Obama's view that "for too long, issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It's time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect."

Yet, on December 19, 2008, Ken Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and seeking to nullify the marriages of 18,000 devoted same-sex couples solemnized before Prop 8 passed.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, with a decision expected within 90 days. We, the undersigned, ask that the Court enforce the equality promised to each of us by our constitution and invalidate Prop 8. So doing will protect all loving, committed couples in California -– including the 18,000 who said "I do" last year –- and prevent the initiative process from being a tool for stripping vulnerable minorities of precious constitutional rights.
As Americans who believe in the rule of law and fundamental civil rights, we know that Ken Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund's shameful attempt to nullify equal protection and all these bonded unions will be condemned in the eyes of history.

We know that, ultimately, love will prevail, no matter how hard they try to fight it."

Love,

Alline and Kurt, aka "The Milkweeds"

Etsy - Affordable Hand-Made Artisan Wares

2009-02-04T18:34:00.001-08:00

It's no secret that I love Etsy, or at least it shouldn't be.

"What's Etsy?" Oh, man, are YOU in for a treat!

Thousands of artisans list their wares for sale. Some are, well, still need a little work. But many

(so many!) of the items are absolutely beautiful, inventive, creative, and just plain fabulous. There is a group of Etsians called Team Eco Etsy - when you go to the site, do a search for "teamecoetsy", and you'll be rewarded with items made with sustainability and general eco-grooviness in mind.

Some of my favorite Milkweed Mercantile items come straight from the crafty hands of Etsy artisans. We have soft sweater balls from Handmade Pretties,

Soft Sweater Balls $20 (baby not included)

...gorgeous letterpress cards (on recycled paper) with quotes from authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson from Letterary Press,

From the American Thinkers Collection, set of 8 cards for $17.00

...inspirational pendants made with recycled Scrabble tiles from Home Studios,

Live Simply Pendant, $11 (including chain)

... soft rattles made from hand-dyed organic fleece from Ecoleeko,

Flower Rattle, $16

...and Wally Ware, hand-made pottery from Tom Edwards in Colorado .

Wally Goes Vegetarian Plate, $28

The American crafts movement is alive and well. What a nice change from plastic junk made in China! When you need a gift, for yourself or for others, please consider handmade!

Organic Gardening Season - Beginners Welcome!

2009-02-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Soon, you too will be sprouting seeds that will turn into spectacular vegetables! Photo Credit: jade19721 on Flickr

The seed catalogs are here! Whoooeeee!

I never knew how much fun looking at photos of tomatoes and reading descriptions about types called things like "Mortgage Lifter/Radiator Charlie’s” could be. Yes, it’s true, we don’t have television (at least one that’s hooked up to anything besides the DVD player). But it is currently a bone-chilling 19 degrees outside – I’m inside, by the warm and cozy fire. The cat is at my side, purring, and I am surrounded by a dozen delicious seed catalogs.

Amish Paste Tomatoes - one of THE best types to make your own pasta sauce and catsup.

Snow is on the ground but summer grows in my heart as they arrive by the armful, filled with gorgeous photos and irresistible descriptions. How is a mere mortal to choose?

Jalapeno peppers. Imagine them diced into your own fresh salsa, or stuffed with cream cheese. Yum!

The Milkweed Mercantile is proud, happy and excited (well, let’s just say that I am proud, happy and excited) to be carrying seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Located in Virginia at Acorn, another intentional community, SESE is a marvelous operation. By purchasing SESE seeds you support organic farmers, keep heirloom and open-pollinated species in production, and have the opportunity to grow some of the most delicious vegetables and herbs around. What’s not to like?

Chioggia Beet - have you ever seen anything so gorgeous? (Besides Hugh Jackman in "Australia," of course...)

We’ve carefully selected the seed varieties that we like the best and have had good luck with. But that’s not all. No, we’re not giving away ginzu knives, but we are including our favorite recipes with many of the seeds. And every Wednesday we’ll be walking you through the gardening season, step by step right here on A Passion for Green Business, the official blog for the Milkweed Mercantile. We’ll start with the basics – soil preparation and germination, and move to preparing the garden beds, transplanting the seedlings, dealing with pests organically, harvesting, and then canning/preserving and cooking. Yum!

Success is practically guaranteed. You can SO do this!

Click here to take a look at our selection of seeds.

We are humbled by and grateful for your business - every single pack of seeds that you buy helps us craft a sustainable life here at Dancing Rabbit. In return, we will do everything we can do to support you through the gardening season and in your own sustainable life!

I Think Valentine's Day is Stupid (but I still love you...)

2009-01-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

Some Validation Day cards from past years...

Maybe it’s just me. But instead of feeling filled with love on Valentine’s Day, I often feel depressed, lonely and not quite good enough. In the years when I did not have a boyfriend (or now, husband) on February 14th I would feel like the biggest loser ever, especially when I worked in an office and the competition-sized bouquets would pour in for my colleagues, proof certain that their partners did indeed love them, and no one seemed to love me.

Hyped to hysterical levels by Hallmark and retailers looking to make some cash in the bleak months immediately following Christmas, Valentine’s Day seems rather empty and superficial. I know that Kurt (Mr. Milkweed) loves me because he does thoughtful, kind little things for me all year ‘round. He tells me that he loves me when my hair is sticking up in a particularly unattractive way, and when I’m crabby and not especially loveable. That, to me is a true valentine. Not a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

My solution? Here at Dancing Rabbit we celebrate Validation Day (I can take no credit for it; I think we stole the idea from Twin Oaks).

Here’s how it works – a stealthy team of card-makers gets together two weeks before February 14th. Using old magazine cutouts, lots of imagination and love, a card is hand crafted for each person here at Dancing Rabbit. Then, one by one, we each write on everyone’s card, explaining to each recipient what we appreciate about them and why we are grateful they are in our lives. This isn’t always easy – Dancing Rabbit is not (yet) Utopia; there are often bumps and disagreements; difficulties and conflict. But there is ALWAYS something good in each person, and something to be appreciated. From “I appreciate your honesty in meetings” to “I am grateful for how kind you are to my dog,” it all counts, and is all meaningful.

We give ourselves the opportunity to see the good stuff, and forget about the annoying, at least for one day. On the morning of “Validation Day” we gather in the Common House, eat cinnamon rolls warm from the oven, and hand out the cards. It’s nothing but good thoughts, often from surprising places. No lover needed; just good will from your neighbors.You too, can give Validation Day Cards. They don’t have to be fancy. But how wonderful to send thoughts of gratitude to your neighbors, relatives, friends and loved ones for being just exactly who they are.

In closing, I'd just like to say thanks for reading. And come back on February 14th - there will be a Validation Day card here, just for you!

Brita Pitcher Filter Cartridges Are Now Recyclable, or, The Good Guys Win One

2009-01-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, come out tonight and support blogger Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish as she presents over 600 Brita plastic pitcher filter cartridges to Brita/Clorox for recycling.

Where: Whole Foods Market in Oakland, 230 Bay Place Oakland, Calif. 94612

When: Friday, January 30, 2009 at 8 a.m.

To see the whole story, go to Green Talk.

Congratulations Beth and the rest of the Take Back the Filter crew!

NOTE: Beth says: "I'd love to encourage your readers to check the list of participating Whole Foods stores and find out if their local store is on it. If not, please call the store manager and request that Preserve's Gimme5 collection box be provided. Participation in the recycling program for #5 plastics (which, in addition to Brita filters, includes yogurt tubs, Rx bottles, and all Preserve products) is up to each store manager." OK activists, it's up to YOU!

I Believe That We All Can Have "The Good Life," Part Deux

2009-01-28T16:02:00.001-08:00

This post is part 2 of my entry for the February Green Mom's Carnival, which will be posted over at The Smart Mama .

(Continued from yesterday) I sat with all of this for a few days, pondering it as I went through my routines. I finished reading one book, and it was time for another. I went to my stack of books and randomly grabbed a new book to read. I came up with The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing Book-Sharing Guide to Life by Kathy Patrick that I had picked up two years ago at BEA (my stack of books is mighty – it takes awhile to work my way through it!). I wasn’t really expecting much – I’m not much of a “girly” book type, and this one does have a hot pink cover - but am always interested in books about books, and people who share my obsession.

And what do you know? More of “my” ideas, in print. Here was my new BFF Kathy Patrick endorsing my theory of a passionate, worth-while life. (Filling in the blanks: Kathy dropped out of college, went to beauty school, went to work in a bookstore and fell in love with the business. Eventually became a publisher’s rep, a job she adored. Then she got laid-off, and when she and her family had trouble getting by on just her husband’s income, she opened Beauty and the Book, a combination Hair Salon/Book Store out of her home and a direct result of her skills and passions). Unsurprisingly, it took off. The Pulpwood Queens book clubs did too, as did Kathy’s literacy programs.

"How do you go about finding that sort of satisfaction that comes about by doing valuable and enjoyable work? You can start by asking simple questions. What am I passionate about? Do I have a special talent or gift? What part of my life gives me the most personal satisfaction? The trouble with most of us women is that we are just so damn busy taking care of other people all day, we forget what we like or don’t like. If we have talent, we downplay it. We hide our passion for everyday things such as taking care of children, mowing yards, cleaning house, or being a hairdresser. We think people will think less of us for enjoying those things. Let me tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with serving others. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can give respect back to those who make our lives easier and more enjoyable. Caring for others is a calling, too.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that success means having a big paycheck and the corner office, a big McMansion and a fancy car, or finding your fifteen minutes of fame. Every day since I opened Beauty and the Book has been a blessing. I may hot have much money, but I am doing what I love, so I am rich in life. I’ve got plenty of riches – my faith, family, friends, my Pulpwood Queens, my books, and the deep satisfaction I get from promoting literacy in communities across the country. Now that’s my story and I’m sticking to it." (from Page 18)

I am not suggesting that you do not “work.” What I AM suggesting is that work doesn’t have to feel like death, like a trap, like a vice around your neck, like something you are doing “for the sake of the family.” Some of my dearest friends are stuck in the trap – they say “oh, we’d love to have a life like yours, but…” (…we have to save for our retirement, in four years we’ll be vested, we want to fix our house up before we sell it, we’re afraid…). But, but, but...

I certainly do not want to browbeat you into simplicity (hmmm, that’s really kind of a funny concept). However, if you are interested in a life that is richer, deeper and more fulfilling, it is totally possible. Choose to be happy. Or not. It’s up to you – if you change your definition of “having it all,” you really can.

I Believe That We All Can Have "The Good Life," Part 1

2009-01-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

This post is for the February Green Mom's Carnival, which will be posted over at The Smart Mama . My entry is a bit early - I just couldn't stop thinking about it!

We do not have a money problem in America. We have a values and priorities problem.

~Marian Wright Edelman

So - what are you working for? (video from Barrett Koehler publishers)

Have you ever noticed how when you get a really good idea you are suddenly innundated with examples of this idea everywhere, or notice other people talking about it? And how exciting it is? This has been happening to me a lot lately. Because I believe that we really can have it all.

I feel like a broken record, and I never would have believed it until I took the leap (“oh, here she goes again,” my readers moan). But one really can "work" for less than 40 (or 60, or 80) hours a week and have a fantastic, fulfilling, joyous, oh-so-wonderful life. Will you have a new BMW, a 500,000 square-foot house or the latest designer clothes? Probably not. If that is what is truly important to you, you are probably not reading this blog in the first place. Find a way to live less expensively (more on that later) and you will be amazed when you realize that what you lack in cold hard cash you are gaining in the great wonderful stuff that is truly important to your life (family, friends, pets, reading, learning, art, music, athletics, ...)

A few years ago our friend Tom, who lives in San Francisco and manages a Graphic Design firm, was offered a raise. Tom, in all of his infinite wisdom and knowing how valuable he was to the company, said “What I’d really like is one day off a week.” He did the numbers showing that rather than working five days for more money, he’d work for four days for the same money, which would, in essence, equal a raise. His boss agreed, and now Tom has every single Friday off. Think about that. Every weekend is a three-day weekend.

And this! From The Gospel of Consumption, and the Better Future We Left Behind by Jeffrey Kaplan in (beautiful, gorgeous, non-profit-you-should-subscribe) Orion Magazine. Read it, and I’ll meet you at the bottom:

“…There was, for a time, a visionary alternative. In 1930 Kellogg Company, the world’s leading producer of ready-to-eat cereal, announced that all of its nearly fifteen hundred workers would move from an eight-hour to a six-hour workday. Company president Lewis Brown and owner W. K. Kellogg noted that if the company ran “four six-hour shifts . . . instead of three eight-hour shifts, this will give work and paychecks to the heads of three hundred more families in Battle Creek."

This was welcome news to workers at a time when the country was rapidly descending into the Great Depression. But as Benjamin Hunnicutt explains in his book Kellogg’s Six-Hour Day, Brown and Kellogg wanted to do more than save jobs. They hoped to show that the “free exchange of goods, services, and labor in the free market would not have to mean mindless consumerism or eternal exploitation of people and natural resources.” Instead “workers would be liberated by increasingly higher wages and shorter hours for the final freedom promised by the Declaration of Independence—the pursuit of happiness.”

To be sure, Kellogg did not intend to stop making a profit. But the company leaders argued that men and women would work more efficiently on shorter shifts, and with more people employed, the overall purchasing power of the community would increase, thus allowing for more purchases of goods, including cereals.

A shorter workday did entail a cut in overall pay for workers. But Kellogg raised the hourly rate to partially offset the loss and provided for production bonuses to encourage people to work hard. The company eliminated time off for lunch, assuming that workers would rather work their shorter shift and leave as soon as possible. In a “personal letter” to employees, Brown pointed to the “mental income” of “the enjoyment of the surroundings of your home, the place you work, your neighbors, the other pleasures you have [that are] harder to translate into dollars and cents.” Greater leisure, he hoped, would lead to “higher standards in school and civic . . . life” that would benefit the company by allowing it to “draw its workers from a community where good homes predominate."

It was an attractive vision, and it worked. Not only did Kellogg prosper, but journalists from magazines such as Forbes and BusinessWeek reported that the great majority of company employees embraced the shorter workday. One reporter described “a lot of gardening and community beautification, athletics and hobbies . . . libraries well patronized and the mental background of these fortunate workers . . . becoming richer.”

A U.S. Department of Labor survey taken at the time, as well as interviews Hunnicutt conducted with former workers, confirm this picture. The government interviewers noted that “little dissatisfaction with lower earnings resulting from the decrease in hours was expressed, although in the majority of cases very real decreases had resulted.” One man spoke of “more time at home with the family.” Another remembered: “I could go home and have time to work in my garden.” A woman noted that the six-hour shift allowed her husband to “be with 4 boys at ages it was important.”

Those extra hours away from work also enabled some people to accomplish things that they might never have been able to do otherwise. Hunnicutt describes how at the end of her interview an eighty-year-old woman began talking about ping-pong. “We’d get together. We had a ping-pong table and all my relatives would come for dinner and things and we’d all play ping-pong by the hour.” Eventually she went on to win the state championship. Many women used the extra time for housework. But even then, they often chose work that drew in the entire family, such as canning. One recalled how canning food at home became “a family project” that “we all enjoyed,” including her sons, who “opened up to talk freely.” As Hunnicutt puts it, canning became the “medium for something more important than preserving food. Stories, jokes, teasing, quarreling, practical instruction, songs, griefs, and problems were shared. The modern discipline of alienated work was left behind for an older . . . more convivial kind of working together.”

This was the stuff of a human ecology in which thousands of small, almost invisible, interactions between family members, friends, and neighbors create an intricate structure that supports social life in much the same way as topsoil supports our biological existence. When we allow either one to become impoverished, whether out of greed or intemperance, we put our long-term survival at risk.”

How cool it that? Imagine how our lives would be changed if we could support ourselves AND spend time with our children, passing on our skills, ideas, ethics and values? Imagine having enough money and being able to do the things about which you are passionate!

Unfortunately, by 1985 the party was over. Not from the point of the employer, it seems, but from men who felt that it was unmanly to be “working” just a brief 6 hours a day. The following is from a Publisher’s Weekly review.

"Kellogg workers, especially the women, managed to find things to do with their extra time until WWII; after the war, workers, particularly men, seemed less able to find ways to fill their unstructured time. Using interviews with Kellogg employees dating back to the program's beginning, as well as various studies on work, Hunnicutt (Work Without End) paints a sad picture of a society where people prefer buying things to socializing, a world where a shorter work day is no longer desirable because few know what to do with their spare time. When the six-hour day came to an end in 1985, women were the only ones who protested. Most men had succumbed to the belief that working longer was more manly and that going home after six hours to be with the family was not really the thing to do. This examination of the American attitude toward work is not light reading, but it could serve as a wake-up call for a nation in big trouble if the jobless future comes to pass."

Wow. Where did that come from? The sad thing is that in one way or another we’re all buying into the myth that “six hours isn’t enough.”

To be continued tomorrow...

Dreaming of Summer

2009-01-23T13:34:00.001-08:00

Hi friends! Yesterday was warm and balmy - we all wandered around dazed and happy, and a few brave souls even went for a dip (read Ziggy's account here; that's his photo above). No, no, I did not join them - I sat happily in the sun and read my newspaper. Baloo sat at my side, nose in the air, his own sort of news-gathering done by sniffing.

We're about to launch gardening season with lots of fantastic organic seeds for sale, a really fun contest and lots, lots more. So be sure to check in next Wednesday. And if you haven't already, please sign up for the Mercantile newsletter.

'Til Monday, I'm dreaming of summer...

Chioggia beets - wow!

Still Floating Happily

2009-01-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

From World Hum, Travel Dispatches from a Shrinking Planet. Photo by Frank Murray

Yesterday I sat glued to the computer and ate up every single second of the inauguration. While it was like watching a jerky stop-motion amateur movie, it was still fabulous.

I also made time to unwrap a shipment of Wally Ware, which I am VERY excited about. Here's a little peek:

I don't know about your cat, but my cat is a bit impatient. Pretty much a perfect bowl... These should be for sale on our webstore by Monday!

Change We Can Believe In?

2009-01-19T13:23:00.001-08:00

Change We Can Believe In?
Originally uploaded by starbuck77

To the right: trash left behind the inaugural concert on Sunday. "We are One" big bunch of slobs.

Call me crazy, or just a crabby semi-old lady, but it seems that "change" begins with each of us. Dumping trash, however neatly, is just so....last administration!

Let Freedom Ring: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2009

2009-01-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

As we are about to inaugurate our first African-American president, I find this speech especially moving.

"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."

As discouraged and disheartened as I have been these past long eight years, I am equally joyous and hopeful for the next four (or eight?). For the first time in years I am not ashamed to be an American.

For those with short attention spans, the "I Have a Dream" section begins at 12:28 .

For the full text, click here.

My Life in a Feminist Ecovillage

2009-01-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

Kurt in his "Feminist Chicks Dig Me" hat. Note: the button was given to him by women interns here at Dancing Rabbit, and he only put it on after checking with all the DR women...

I was very inspired by two blog posts this week – one at Arduous Blog and the other at Growing Green Mama. They both enabled me to reflect upon the meandering path that has brought me here to Dancing Rabbit, a self-proclaimed Feminist Ecovillage.

Before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge that I come from a place of privilege. I grew up in a middle class family in California, with two parents, in a comfortable suburban house. My father always had a job, I attended college, have had my choice of jobs and careers. I am healthy, I can read, I am white. I have also chosen to live in a way that requires a lot less monetary input. The abundance of choices that I have reflect this.

My parents were early feminists, although they would never have called themselves that. I could only get my driver’s license after I could drive a stick shift and change a tire. I was expected to go to college. There were no questions about women being smart and capable. My father worked construction for a heavy equipment union and his proudest achievements were getting women (usually single moms with kids to support) into the training program (we’re talking running cranes, dredges and backhoes here) and into secure jobs that paid well and had great benefits. My mom was an RN who brooked no pussy-footing or “dumb blonde” acts, and took us along when campaigning for Shirley Chisholm’s presidential candidacy.

Contrast this with my college: I attended Brigham Young University. Not exactly a hotbed of feminism. (Yes, dear readers, this is one of my deepest darkest secrets. I don’t list my college on anything I don’t have to – my Linkedin profile looks like I stopped my education after the 12th grade. So don’t tell anyone, ok? My dad was Mormon from Utah, my mom was Episcopalian from Boston - she said she was bringing “culture to the colonies.” They decided to raise us Mormon. When I reached the age where I wanted to know if I really believed in this religion, or not, I chose BYU. Within four weeks I knew it was “or not.”). After fleeing Provo, Utah, one Book of Mormon class short of a degree in International Relations, I refused to do most anything “domestic.” I was sick at heart that the church seemed to value women primarily for their baby-producing and housekeeping skills and ran as far and fast as I could from that stereotype. The silver lining is that this provided the opportunity for me to decide what was right and wrong for me, what I truly valued, and what it was I believed in.

I became very independent, learned how to do lots of things myself, and had a great time. While I made a lot of cookies (yum!) my fridge continually looked like a science project gone bad: I’d buy food, put it in the fridge and then throw it out when it rotted. My only excuse was that it was the 80’s, and while I spent my summers hiking in the Sierra, my eco-consciousness had yet to really develop. I was neither a cook, nor a house-keeper, or domestic in any way. I did not really expect to get married.

Fast forward: I started leading backpacking trips for the Sierra Club. In 1993 Kurt came on one of my trips. He came on my trip the next summer, too, and the rest, as they say, is history. He moved to Berkeley, we got married (when I was 40), and began our path together.

I sold my Honda Accord and we did everything by bike, including laundry and grocery shopping (BOB trailers are the best!). We led Sierra Club trips together, Kurt was active in the Berkeley bike activist group (BFBC), I worked at Clif Bar. When we decided to move to dancing Rabbit, we were going to build our off-grid strawbale house together. I got my own tool belt and we both took the building seminars at Real Goods. The week we arrived at DR I participated in a women’s building workshop where two women contractors led 16 of us through the construction of the strawbale building, which was later named Bella Ciao. I learned to swing a hammer like I meant it, to use power tools fearlessly (but respectfully), to measure twice and cut once.
And I hated it. Absolutely hated it. It was hot, it was excruciatingly boring, all measurements had to be accurate. Arrrggghhh!

What was a feminist to do? I was flummoxed and horrified. How was I to contribute to the building of our home and our new life?

At this same time, Kurt and I were both in the Dancing Rabbit food co-op, where everyone had a cook shift once a week (pretty wonderful to show up every other evening at 6:30 and have a hot meal waiting for you!). It was a matter of pride to present a fabulous repast, and was even a teensy bit competitive. I learned to cook with whole foods, and to relax and take my time. I found cookbooks that I loved, and even learned to bake bread. I found I enjoyed it a lot, and that it felt very creative. While in the back of my head that Mormon stereotype of the bread-baking, casserole toting, child-bearing good wife lingered, but I cringed and pushed it out of my head. Surely there was a way to be joyful in cooking without becoming a household drudge?

Additionally, I had grown up without a clothes dryer – all year ‘round my mom would hang the laundry out in the backyard. I loved the smell and feel of crispy sheets fresh from the line, and brought this odd enthusiasm to DR.

Kurt and I sat down and talked (and talked and talked). We were, and continue to be, a partnership. We finally decided that I would cook and do laundry, and he would build the house. At first (for the first, oh, four years or so) I was embarrassed. How could I possibly explain that I had moved to a feminist Ecovillage to become a 50’s housewife?

Gradually I became comfortable with my choices, and realized that reconciling all of this was an incredible gift that women in previous generations did not have. I really love cooking and baking. I am the unofficial birthday cake baker here in the village and have a great time with it. The kids come over and bake cookies with me; they learn math and cooking and hygiene (“wash your hands!”) and we sing silly camp songs. I make my own jam from blackberries and violets harvested from Dancing Rabbit’s land, and tomato sauce from my own tomatoes. I love to hang out the wash. Weird but true. And I am still a feminist, and an environmentalist.

To me, feminism is about doing what is true to one’s heart. There are many women builders here at DR, and I celebrate them. There are feminist moms here, too - thoughtful, conscientious women doing an incredibly important job. We really try to look at the roles we get pigeonholed into, and try not to make assumptions. Feminist men do laundry and take care of their babies, and so do feminist women. Let's stop judging one another, and ourselves, for fitting or not fitting into roles provided by others. Working together, we can find a way to provide for our needs and build a world we love, where we all are fulfilled. At least that is my dream.

PS Just wanted to show you what I found in my oven a few minutes ago. It is a baked potato from, oh, four or five days ago. It somehow got pushed to the back of the oven, and has endured the baking of two batches of cookies, a (home made) chicken pot pie, and a batch of muffins. So much for the "I am a great cook and a feminist, too!" rhetoric. Perhaps I should stick with "I am a forgetful but enthusiastic cook, and a feminist, too." Sigh.

About Those Paper Towels

2009-01-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

Cut down on your paper towel use. Let me repeat that: stop using paper towels to wipe off kitchen counters, to clean windows, to wipe up the kids, to clean up, well, just about everything!

How? There are a number of products on the market - which is right for you? At the Milkweed Mercantile (and in the Milkweed household) we've chosen to sell/use Household Hemp Cloths. It is very important to me to sell only products that I really believe in - and these cloths fit the bill.

Made in the USA by a woman-owned company, the cloths are made of organic cotton and hemp. Hemp has naturally anti-bacterial & anti-fungal properties and can be grown without the use of pesticides. Organic cotton is, well, organic cotton! They are super plush, two-layers thick, and incredibly absorbent. They wash and dry like a dream, and last for years. I know, this sounds like a late-night info-mercial. But stay with me here. Unlike disposables, which you use a few times and then add to the landfill, the two-ply hemp/organic cotton household cloths will last for years. We promise.

Additionally, you will save money in the long run – have you ever paid attention to how many paper towels you use in a year? These towels will pay for themselves in a year, and you can continue to use them over and over and over...

They come in three sizes:

4" x 6" - perfect for a face cloth, baby wipes, washing dishes
8" x 8" - a great kid's napkin, polishing & dusting furniture (if you do those sort of things!)
11' x 11" - the true UNpaper towel, this may quite possibly be the smartest thing you do for your home this year. Brawny paper towels weep when they see a Household Hemp cloth. Even Seventh Generation, in all their recycled glory, can't match the effectiveness and sustainability of Household Hemp.

If you cannot completely cut paper towels out of your life, don't sweat it - just do your best! (Don't you have enough to worry about? Stress is not sustainable!) Here are my tips:

1. For draining fried foods (and yes, everything does taste better fried!) I use newspaper. Most newspapers are printed with vegetable-based inks. If you feel that the newspaper alone is not quite absorbent enough, try using newspaper as an underlayer and one paper towel on top. This cuts down on paper towel use, and is a good compromise.

2. For cleaning: cellulose sponges (real cellulose can be composted when the life has gone out of the sponge), Household Hemp cloths, handmade (crocheted or knitted) dishcloths.

3. For gross things, like, um, dog & cat barf: newspaper, and then some old rags. We seem to have a plethora of them (rags, not barf, thank goodness!). If they are too, too gross, I toss them out. If they are redeemable, I wash them.

We All Know That The World Is Changing...

2009-01-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

...we get to decide whether it's changing for the better or for the worse.

Here's to a spectacular, peaceful, filled-with-hope 2009.

How To Stop Global Warming, or, A Cranky Person Spouts Off

2008-12-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.
~Dorothy Day

Travel and learn. Photo by Lisa Kau.

When contemplating what to write for this month's Green Mom's Carnival, which has the topic of Global Warming, I was flummoxed. Global Warming? What on earth could I add to the Global Warming dialog? I felt inadequate, small, unworthy (even though sustainability is what I do). And that, dear readers, is the key.

Each and every one of us MUST do what we can. Regardless of our scientific credentials. Regardless of our status, our education, our confidence (or lack of it). It is up to us - individuals - to make a difference. I am not a parent (although I have three nieces, whom I love so fiercely it actually hurts, and for whom I would throw myself in front of an oncoming train), but when I think of what kind of world we are leaving for future generations I almost despair. Almost.

I once had a boyfriend (of the Earth First! variety) who would spray paint “Nature bats last!” on isolated bridges and over passes in ravaged, heavily-logged national parks and wilderness areas. While I was a bit appalled at the vandalism, I agree with the sentiment. Human beings are just a blip on the planet’s radar; we are currently wreaking havoc, but are ultimately not as important as we like to think we are.

We have the opportunity to make a huge paradigm shift – respecting nature, living sustainably, slowing consumerism, sharing our wealth, building communities, and learning kindness. I am embarrassed at the riches Americans squander each and every day; for example, we buy bottled water with extra shots of caffeine or vitamins or just a really pretty label, while others, by a mere accident of birth, do not even have clean water to drink.

To me it all comes down to personal responsibility, and deciding to think about something other (bigger!) than ourselves. I remain optimistically realistic, and just a bit cranky.

How to Curb Global Warming, Part One

Take responsibility - for your actions, your non-actions, your attitudes and your biases.
Stop driving. Seriously. Just stop. (Mark Sheppard doesn't agree with me...and boy, he is really cranky!)
Work (hard!) for change.
Take care of everyone. Not just the pretty or the rich or the sane or the educated. Everyone.
Be kind.
Stop competing.
Consider reading the Utne Reader, Orion and YES! Magazine instead of People and Entertainment Weekly. Do we really give a horse's patoot about how Jen is coping with Brad and Angelina's ever-growing family?
Find work you love. Embrace a new paradigm.
Share. The one who dies with the most toys does NOT win. He's just dead, with lots of stuff for someone else to deal with.
Turn off your TV, and cancel your cable.
Read books. Borrow them from the library, or use Bookmooch.
Speaking of libraries, support them. If you don't have any cash, volunteer.
Become frugal. Think of it as another way of conserving resources.
Eat lower on the food chain.
Grow your own vegetables, swap with neighbors. If you don't have the space, join a community garden. Get creative!
Compost, and be amazed at what nature can do.
Spay and neuter your pets (9.6 million animals are euthanized - killed, put down, - annually) and encourage others to do so, too.
Do not buy dogs from puppy mills.
Get to know your neighbors.
Travel, and learn that the world is made up of people a lot like us.
Understand that valuing conspicuous consumption is, well, kind of stupid. Do we think it really matters if we have the new style of Jimmy Choo shoes?
Don't be cranky.

Sell your soul (sole?) for Jimmy Choo's. Photo Credit CafeHangout on Flickr

More info on the Green Mom's Carnival can be found here.

Vision of a New Way of Doing Business

2008-12-21T12:49:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted here for awhile. And I was feeling guilty (ah, well, there's something new!) about it - after all, a new business needs constant attention, enthusiastic diligence, constant feelers to contacts, both new and old...

Frankly, I've been rather frantic. Working on a Media Kit (Earth Day is four months away - and everyone seems to want to talk to us at Earth Day!), making lists (and checking them twice) of green bloggers who might be interested in collaborating, writing copy for ads that won't run until the fall of 2009 but are due NOW, trying to determine which of all the tempting events, conferences and trade shows to attend (hmmmmm....if I "Pitch My Product" in Chicago at the Country Living Women Entrepreneur's event I can't make it to the Book Expo in NYC...), creating a delightful, cohesive and fun seminar program for the summer & fall of 2009, PLUS cook dinner, pretend to clean, sew thermal window shades for our house (it's been below zero - outside - each morning for the last week when we awaken...), filing all the dozens of papers, magazine tear sheets, pamphlets, and brilliant ideas that are constantly whirling around my desk and my head...

And then I finally came to my senses. I moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage to live more sustainably. And the longer I live here, the more I realize that sustainability is about more than reducing my physical footprint. I need to be sustainable. I need to set reasonable working hours, regardless of how new and entreprenerial my business is. I need to breathe, to play, to run around with the dog, to talk with friends, to give myself time to recharge and regroup. I need to nap. So I'm taking a few days off; I hope to have a sustainable plan for this blog in 2009.

Fionn, snoozing.

Thanks for reading. I hope to continue to make it worth your while in the future.

The Milkweed Mercantile November Newsletter

2008-11-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

Photo: Glen Bolosan

This Month's Theme: Gratitude

Dear readers,
Regardless of what is happening around us, we all have so much for which to be grateful. As an individual, I am grateful for my husband, who makes my life a joy; my supportive friends who are always there when I need them; and my crazy pets, who never fail to provide entertainment. I am grateful to have a warm house to live in; what I like even better is that you can often find a friend nestled into the couch, cup of tea in hand, in front of the wood stove. As the Top Banana of the Milkweed Mercantile, I am grateful for the talented Rabbits who are and will become members of the staff, and for their creative and insightful contributions to making the Mercantile a thriving, heart-based success. I am also grateful to you, the Mercantile's many supporters - thank you so much! And as an American, I am grateful to have a new president-elect, and a renewed sense of hope in our country.

So take a deep breath. Thanksgiving CAN be fun, and the day after does not have to be crazy.
A Bit Nervous about Thanksgiving? Read Facing the Family by Teri Trespicio

Featured Seasonal Recipe: Cranberry Sauce (hint: it's easy!)
Growing up I thought that cranberry sauce always came in the shape of a can, and that those horizontal lines etched in every inch or so were to help your mom know where to slice it, just like this:

Photo credit: Zach Kowalczyk

A few years ago, though, I learned to make my own cranberry sauce. What a revelation! It's easy, and the taste difference is stunning. Added bonus: the cranberries pop as they cook, making it a fun project to do with kids. Cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, so your sauce will definitely gel. I don't strain mine (way too much work!) and like to add pecans and orange zest. Presented in a lovely dish when you arrive for dinner, Aunt Edna will think youíre a GENIUS! Note: Make extra so that you can add a bit of it to your leftover turkey sandwiches on Friday...

Photo Credit: Sarah J. Gim

Delightfully Delicious Cranberry Sauce
Makes 2 1/4 cups

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

zest from 1 orange

1. Wash and pick over cranberries.
2. In a large saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
4. Add in the roughly chopped pecans and orange zest. You can also add a cup of raisins or currants, or up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness.
5. Remove from heat. Pour into serving bowl and cool completely at room temperature. Chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Mercantile Construction Update

Thomas keys the plaster into the strawbales.

Our beautiful strawbale building now has two of three coats of plaster, and the Fuego fireplace was installed this week. We are planning on heating the upstairs with a series of ducts (also installed), counting on the theory that hot air rises. For updated photos, please see our Flickr page!

The Department of Give That Woman A Microphone and She'll be Happy Forever:

I was a guest on the Revolutionary Muse Podcast Radio on Monday, November 11, 2008.
Click here to listen.

Holiday Sanity, Part One

Are you looking for ideas for inexpensive, creative and eco-friendly gifts? Take a look at this from our Friends at the Center for a New American Dream.

And there are lots of ways to wrap your gifts without spending lots money OR trashing the environment!

Featured Products: 15% off all Edibles!

Dark Chocolate Wally Bar

Last but not least, we would appreciate your support as you are doing your holiday gift-giving. Highly recommended: the amazing Chocolate Wally Bars and Blueberry Lavender Preserves make the perfect hostess gift. And be sure to check out our "Giving to Others" section. All Mercantile purchases are unconditionally guaranteed, come packed in eco-friendly packaging, and are shipped via USPS Priority Mail.

15% OFF Coupon
Use the secret code "Sweet Potato Pie" during checkout to receive a 15% discount on all edibles purchased before December 20, 2008. Supplies limited to stock on hand - shop early!

All of us here at the Milkweed Mercantile send good wishes for a healthy, harmonious and delicious holiday!

Alline Anderson, Kurt Kessner, Amy Seiden, and Annie Radford

"You really can change the world if you care enough."
- Marion Wright Edelman

The Realities of Renewable Energy

2008-11-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

The power system in our house is very modestly sized. Before leaving Berkeley we went around the house with a clipboard and took notes on how many watts for how much time each appliance we were taking with us used. We bought a small system, knowing that we would have to economize power-wise when cloudy weather prevailed.

This is one of those times. We are still building the Mercantile, and the power that we have is being prioritized for power tools used in construction.

The sun is scheduled to come back out on Sunday (hmmmm, how appropriate!) and I'll have more to post then.

Internet use aside, this is a lovely opportunity to catch up on reading, hanging out with friends, and sitting by the fire with a nice cup of Peace Coffee. Yum.

And just in case you're worried, the Mercantile's power system will be much larger, to accommodate the number of guests we expect to have at any one time.

Have a great day!

I'll Have a Little Humble Pie with that Plastic Tumbler, please...

2008-11-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Learning, learning, learning. I am always learning.

After reading today's Fake Plastic Fish entry, I have asked our web guru to pull all of the #5 plastic items from the Mercantile inventory. I hope it will be done by the end of the day.

While #5 is food grade plastic and previously considered safe, there is now some question about how safe it really is. And it would seem rather hypocritcal for me to continue to carry the items. On one hand it breaks my heart - I love the idea of being able to use recycled plastic, as kind of a penance for our over-consumption. But on the other hand, this is just another red flag, another "come to Jesus" moment.

We must stop all of this consuming. We must find ways to be more thoughtful in what we use, and how. We are so rich, and so priviledged; we must take responsiblity for the waste we are generating.

Also on today's Fake Plastic Fish was this 60 Minutes Report about exporting electronic waste - you know all of those cell phone, computer monitors and televisions we "recycle" each year? Turns out much of the recycling is not done here in the US - our very toxic waste goes to the poorest parts of China. Watch it here:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Do we really need the newest, thinnest phone that does everything from answer your email to walking your dog? And how many tvs do we all need? (Disclosure:when my parents passed away in 2004, there were FIVE tvs. Five. For two people. It's just how we're used to living. We feel we deserve it. But at what cost?).

It feels so insurmountable, so overwhelming. But like anything else, I just have to take it in small pieces. I'm taking a vow to be more deliberate and thoughtful before I buy things. How about you?

Should you need some lovely recycled plastic, um, flower vases, let me know:

Ooooh, what a pretty flower vase!

The Laptop Lunches would be great for beading supplies. I can get them for you wholesale!

Fantastic beading supply cases, cheap.

A Plastic-Free Life: WWBD (What Would Beth Do)?

2008-11-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have been very inspired by Beth Terry and her blog Fake Plastic Fish. While I flap my jaws about plastic consumption, Beth is taking action. Check out her blog – you’ll see what I mean. I really want to join Beth’s Plastic Posse. But to do so I feel I need to be more deliberate and judicious in my plastic usage - just because we live at an eco-village doesn't mean we have it all figured out. Often, it means that we don't, but are consciously seeking the answers!

Here are the questions she poses, and my answers. How would YOU answer the following?

1. What was it that first inspired you to eliminate plastic from your life? Was it a particular issue? News article? Experience? And when was this?

The first I remember being aware of the evils of plastic was in high school (way back in the disco-inferno 70's). We heard about turtles and sea birds being strangled by the plastic 6-pack rings. Of course, we didn’t stop buying the six-packs; we simply became vigilant about cutting them apart. Years later when I started composting all food scraps, buying in bulk, recycling paper and aluminum and steel, my garbage output became pretty darned small (put out weekly in, um, plastic bags...). I was impressed with myself. But I still kept buying plastic. It’s time for a little humility, and a more concerted effort.

2) What have been the 1-3 easiest changes to make?

Some things have been absolutely easy-peasy no-brainers: grocery bags, coffee cups, reusable flatware and glass storage containers at home.

I really enjoy bringing my own bags to the grocery store. The nice Mennonite ladies at the local store totally get it, and the teenagers at the local "supermarket" put up with it (remember, we’re in the middle of rural red-state Missouri). My favorite bag is made from recycled PET (read: plastic) and while I understand the irony in this, I also feel a responsibility to support the companies making products out of recycled plastic. I also have one made out of recycled organic cotton, and some really old beaters from years and years ago...

I always bring my own coffee cup. While this is mainly about being very annoyed by disposable cups, I really like having my own cup. I know exactly how much sugar and milk to put in to make it taste perfect, and my hand doesn’t get burned holding it. This too, is recycled plastic. (I can imagine Beth shaking her head, moaning "oh no, where have I gone wrong..."). But until I can find a stainless steel tumbler with a screw-on lid, I’m sticking to it. Pop-off lids tend to do just that, and I’ve had too many papers, purses, car seats and desk tops soggified from tipped over coffee tumblers to believe that they'll stay on. My search continues. Let me know if you find one!

Tucked in the bottom of my bag whenever I travel is my bamboo flatware travel kit and cloth napkin. The first one I made for myself, and then I made more for friends. These were so popular that I now make them for our store. Once again, my motives are pretty selfish. I HATE using plastic flatware. The stuff breaks, and is just plain cheesy to eat with. The same goes for the “compostable” flatware (talk about a load of crap! Just because it CAN be composted doesn’t mean that it WILL be composted. Can you say “greenwashing?”).

When we leave for a trip we are fully stocked with delicious edibles. But when we get to our destination we usually buy some food. (Side note on life at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage: Trips beginning here in rural Missouri seem to take forever. We get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive our bio-diesel vehicle-coop car to the train station in Quincy, Il. From there we take a 4½-hour train ride to Chicago’s Union Station. From there we either get on another train or take the El to the airport. It makes for a long, hungry day.)

In train stations and airports (and on trains and airplanes) it is considered criminal to give a patron a metal fork and knife to use while dining. So I bring my own. And get to use my own cloth napkin, too.

You can just as easily bring your own flatware; it doesn’t have to be fancy schmancy bamboo. Just get a cloth napkin, wrap it around a fork, knife and spoon you’re willing to part with and tie it up with a rubber band or ribbon. This will, however, only work on trains. Dude! You’re so eco!

Home food storage: I love Pyrex. Borosilicate glass is the coolest stuff! I’ve found some fabulous old glass refrigerator containers at auctions and on E-bay - the truly "vintage" ones have glass lids. We also sell some at the Mercantile, so I have a set of these in my kitchen, although they do have plastic lids. Quart jars are great for leftovers. Once you start, it gets easier.

3)What has been your biggest challenge so far?

Plastic is everywhere! EVERYWHERE! It’s like body snatchers. Or Republicans. Or SUVs. Or ragweed pollen in the fall. Even when I buy in bulk there is plastic. A 10-lb box of organic raisins or walnuts? Inside the cardboard box is a plastic bag. Sigh.

So I set small goals, and reward myself for small victories (I am very easily amused). My goal this month: learn to make ricotta and mozzarella (both easy cheeses), cottage cheese and sour cream**. Ted (here at Dancing Rabbit) makes fabulous yogurt and delivers it in quart jars; there’s no reason to be buying any of these in plastic containers. Milk is available from two local dairies; both use glass bottles.

**just found this link for sour cream and cottage cheese, and this for ricotta, both over at Crunchy Chicken. Yay!

4)What one thing would you say to encourage others to lessen their plastic consumption?

Start small. Be kind, to yourself and others. And realize that you are not alone in your quest!

Here is lots more inspiration from members (official and unofficial) of the Plastic Posse. You'll find great ideas, lots of humanity, and absolutely no judgement for anyone but themselves:

Cousin Yellowstone's...

This will make you want to give up plastic altogether......while this will inspire you.

Good luck - we're all in this together!

And Now the Waiting Begins...

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Great Green Reading

2008-11-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Interested in what some of the greenest female minds are thinking this month? Head on over to the Best of Mother Earth for this month's Green Moms Carnival. Down-to-earth, insightful and a variety of viewpoints always make this event a treat. Enjoy!

Greenwashing Is Alive and Well and Aimed at YOU!

2008-11-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

I just received a copy of a trade magazine called "Homeworld Business." Aimed at retailers, it is filled with ads by manufacturers hoping to entice us to carry their goods. I was especially interested in the Andis EcoAir Hairdryer. Here is a photo of the ad:

Curious about what made this plastic, electrical hair dryer "eco" I eagerly read the green circle with Eco Friendly in large type. It became clear that the only thing remotely "eco" about this hairdryer is that it has a setting for 1200 watts. That's the low setting, the one that most people using a hairdryer ignore. Here's a closeup of the "eco-friendly" details (sorry about the poor photography! I'm still learning):

"Eco Friendly Go Green and Go Healthy Use lower setting for gentle styling and to conserve energy. Dual 1875/1200 Watts."

And oddly enough, the exact same hairdryer is listed on Amazon as "The Andis Healthy Choices Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer." (Healthy Choices? Sheesh! These folks need an ethical update.)

Same hairdryer, different name - a few months ago this hairdryer wasn't Eco, it was Healthy. Go figure!

This is how it is described "The Andis Healthy Choices Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer is a dual wattage dryer: 1875 watts and 1200 watts of drying power. Use lower wattage setting for gentle styling and to conserve energy."

Down in the bottom right-hand corner is a little green box that says "Green Friendly Packaging." I suspect this means that the packaging can be recycled. Not good enough. And totally lame.

Do you get the feeling that you're being played?

This ad is only the tip of an enormous iceberg. As consumers we have the responsibility to do our homework, and to demand that the stores we patronize do the same. It is simply not enough for manufacturers to slap an ECO label on any product - they have to show us how it really truly is eco.

Some things to look for:
1. Does the product make sense? (Clearly, this hairdryer is just a hairdryer. And while we're on the subject, do you REALLY need a hairdryer?)
2. Where is it manufactured? I try to support US industry whenever possible. It is tough to find items NOT made in China, but we need to at least try! If store owners know this is what we're looking for, they will work to help make it happen. Like Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse always says, where and how you spend your money can change the world.
3. What is the item made of? Is it sustainably made? Bio plastics, which are plastics made of everything from soybeans to potato fibers, are really hot right now. But do we want to be using food crops to make plastic? If the product is made of paper, is it made of recycled paper?
4. What is the recycled content? While I really don't want to be bringing more plastic into my life, I make exceptions for items made with recycled plastic. I feel that if there is not a market for post-consumer recyclables, companies will have no incentive to do the research and production. I also feel that it is a sort of penance for all of my plastic bottle purchases in the past. I applaud companies like Ecospun and Trex (it seems a bit selfish to build a deck out of redwood when you could be using recycled plastic and wood) for their use of recycled materials. And there's no reason to be buying paper products without some percentage of post consumer waste (PCW) recycled paper in them!
5. Where are you buying the item? Local independent stores are best - they are the grassroots support of your community. Last choice: the big box stores. Walmart doesn't give a fig about you, nor does it care about it's employees or the environment. All Walmart cares about is the bottom line. Do you really want to help them set the standards for how retailing should be done?
6. Be smart. Do you need this item? Is it a priority for you? Here's Diane MacEachern again: "People will spend eight to 10 dollars a week on bottled water, and say they can't afford organic milk or apples," she said. "With bottled water, you're paying for, basically, trash to capture water that is tap water anyway. With paper towels, people say they can't afford the green option. Well, the green option is a sponge." Could you buy one used? (Check out Craig's List, EBay, Freecycle.org). Could you make one? I am not asking you to construct, say, a lawnmower. But instead of dashing off to Home Depot for a gas-powered one, consider finding a used reel mower. It's good for you, and good for the environment. Here at Dancing Rabbit we use an electric mower on the area around our house. Because we're totally off-grid, it is a guilt-free choice. Kurt waits until we have a sunny day and our batteries are full. Then, it's yard beautification time!

That's it for today. Time for a walk in the sunny fall air - it's 70 degrees out there!

Boo!

2008-10-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Is anyone reading blogs today? I suspect most are busy with last minute touches to costumes and making sure there is enough candy in the house. Hmmmmm, is there EVER enough candy in the house?

Buyer beware: Unsafe plastic toys are still on sale.

2008-10-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

What's in this duck, and why is he smiling?

Over breakfast this morning I was catching up on my reading. There in the Personal Journal section of the October 23rd edition of the Wall Stree Journal was this headline: Toys Containing Banned Plastics Still on Market: Restrictions on Phthalates Don't Take Effect Until '09; Fears of Reproductive Defects.

My first thought was "are you freaking kidding?" But no, they are not. Here are the highlights:

"In February, 25,000 rubber ducks in Craig Wolfe's inventory will be illegal to sell because they contain chemicals called phthalates, which some studies indicate harm early childhood development.

So the toy maker is liquidating what he can, discounting stock to stores that can place big orders. He hasn't destroyed the novelty ducks, he says, because he believes phthalates are safe. "We've never had any problems," he says.The flood of ducks hitting the market now, along with other toys that contain phthalates, is an unintended consequence of a law aimed at avoiding potential hazards precisely like this one. Last summer, after a spate of recalls, Congress overhauled the mandate of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government's consumer watchdog agency, and ushered in big changes like tougher manufacturing standards for all-terrain vehicles and new limits on lead."

Huh? The toys have been declared unsafe so lets put them all on sale?

Ecoleeko Seahorse, made of organic cotton/hemp corduroy and bamboo fleece with natural kapok stuffing

The article continues: "Three types of phthalates, chemical additives that render hard plastics flexible, will be banned from children's toys and child-care products starting Feb. 10, while three other types of phthalates will be temporarily prohibited from child-care products and toys that can be placed in a child's mouth.

Consumer advocates complain that the law has ended up sanctioning a grace period that allows toy makers to sell off soon-to-be banned toys, rather than forcing them to dispose of them. "This holiday season is going to be 'buyer beware,'" says Elizabeth Hitchcock of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Consumers will see "toys marked down at a discount without knowing that they contain a substance that will be banned in February," says Ms. Hitchcock. That could "present a tremendous danger," she says, because the lower prices will be all the more appealing to shoppers during an economic downturn.

The outcome has frustrated even members of Congress who passed the law. "The effective date was meant to give the CPSC time to implement its new mandates, not to encourage fire sales in toy stores across the country," says Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D., Ill.). A CPSC spokeswoman said Congress didn't deem phthalates unsafe, but had only banned future sales.

Once omnipresent in plastic toys, phthalates have been used in everything from action figures to vinyl inner tubes. But the industrial chemicals began to fall out of favor after a number of studies linked them to genital development problems in rodents, a finding eventually correlated to human infants."

Read the entire article here.

Organic Cotton, made-in-the-US Bath Buddy. Not quite a rubber duckie, but pretty darn fun!

What you can do:
1. Throw away all plastic toys that you are unsure of, especially the soft toys, like rubber duckies, soft read-in-the-tub baby books and other toys intended for infants and toddlers. Also affected: plastic baby bottles and teething rings. Throw them away, do NOT donate them, for all of the obvious reasons. I know this is HARD - we are all looking for ways to save money, not simply throw it away. But what is the health of children worth? More than the few dollars saved.

Food grade, BPA-free stainless steel Klean Kanteen with non-leaching, toxic free Advent sippy spout.

2. Examine the packaging. Look for toys, bottles and teething rings with labels on packaging that state they are lead and phthalate-free. Products produced in Europe (not subcontracted out to China) are often your best bet. And if stuff is on sale? Drastically reduced? Wonder why, and read the fine print. If the packaging does not say phthalate or lead-free, it most likely is not. The product is on sale because it has been dumped by the manufacturer, trying to recoup his investment at the risk of your child's health.

3. Opt for toys made with other materials, such as latex or silicone, both of which are resilient, easy to clean and satisfying to sore gums for mouthy.

4. Cut yourself some slack. It's tough fighting the plastic machine. And I've heard from moms all over that their kids want plastic, and only plastic. Fergit those foofy European toys! Sigh. All we can do is try. And try again. When it comes to kids and plastic, Yoda got it wrong ("Do or do not: There is no try"). You're doing a great job.

Laundry Day stringing toy from German toymaker Haba. Waldorf approved and made to stringent EU environmental standards.

Additional Resources:

US Consumer Product Safety Commission Toy Hazard Recall Page

Parents Magazine Biggest Toy Recalls of 2008

Safe toys are available. This one, made in Vermont of sustainably harvested Vermont maple, and has no finish at all.

If you have any question or further resources, please let me know!

The State of being Grateful

2008-10-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~Melodie Beattie

The neighbors (nothing to do with gratitude, but I took this on my morning walk).

On my mind lately has been what to write for my entry in the Green Mom's Carnival, on the topic of three green things for which I’m most grateful. This month it is hosted by the lovely and hanky-toting Karen Hanrahan.

My first thought was, of course, hankies. Hankies? Yes, HANKIES! No longer the sole domain of librarians, grandmothers and spinster aunties, it’s time we all stood up and shouted: “Say it loud! I blow my nose on hankies (instead of paper tissues) and I’m proud.” Or something like that. Perhaps I need to work on a catchier slogan. But hankies can wait for another post.

Because I’ve been out-classed (happily so). Instead of my own ego-centric writing I’d like to share a marvelous post I found while searching online for inspiration about gratitude.

Finding Leo Babauta’s blog, Zen Habits was like the proverbial breath of fresh air. The site is marvelous. Three Truths to Help you Create a Life of Gratitude was guest written by Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity. It is absolutely spot on. Read the article. Please. Really. Take a deep relaxing breath and read it now.

And then, I extend Chris’s Gratefulness Challenge: This is not a theoretical challenge–it’s designed to be quite practical.

Over the next 30 days, I would like to challenge you to create your own life of gratitude in a way that is meaningful to you, and to begin practicing acts of gratefulness more than you have ever done before. I’ll be doing it along with you, and so will a lot of other readers. It’s always good to be specific, so here are some ideas… but don’t let these limit you.

Spend three minutes every morning writing down a few things you are grateful for that day.
Devote a full morning or afternoon to composing a more detailed gratefulness list. (One tip: think both about what you are grateful for and also how you can show that gratitude
Make it a habit to encourage at least one person every day
Review your finances to make sure they are in order and aligned with your values

Plan something fun, like a trip to somewhere you’ve never been

For one day (or more), say something positive to every person you meet

In closing I'd just like to say that I am grateful for you, dear readers, for the abundance with which I am surrounded, for the encouragement and support I receive from people who seem to appear out of nowhere when I need them most, for the natural world which changes beautifully each day, and for all of the possiblities that lay ahead.

Now, it's your turn. Go!

Yes. We. Can.

2008-10-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was over at A Cultivated Life and found this. Now, I understand that most of you who live in the "real" world are sick to death of political ads. But we don't have TV here - we do subscribe to Netflix, but there are (blissfully) no commercials. (I have, however, stopped answering the phone, especially after 6:00 p.m. If I had a nickel for every time Rudy Guiliani called me this past week - "Hi! This is Rudy Guiliani..." So I DO, partially, feel your pain).

I was incredibly moved by this video. It finally (finally!) a Democratic response to Hal Riney's Morning in America commercial for Ronald Reagan in 1984. Watching this video I feel hopeful, which I have not felt for almost eight long years. **

Yes. We. Can.

**Transcript of text used in the song, thanks to Japi's Blog:

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --

Yes we can."

Celebrities featured include: Jesse Dylan, Will.i.am, Common, Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Adam Rodriquez, Kelly Hu, Amber Valetta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger and Nick Cannon

The First Post

2008-10-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Welcome to my new blog. The old one, Ecovillage Musings, will soon evolve into exactly that - musings (and a few facts) about life here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. A Passion for Green Business will concentrate on the how and why of running a truly green, sustainable, ethical and profitable business.

I can't believe how much I have learned in the past year. I feel like my brain is on hyper-drive. At the risk of being horribly, miserably trite and filled with cliches, life lately feels like peeling a huge, not-so-stinky onion - the more I peel the more that I find is there. And while I might cry a little, all in all it is rich and delicious.

The Milkweed Mercantile recently lost a bid for a $10,000 grant through Ideablob.com. But we "lost" to Emily Pilloton and Project H Design, a "charitable organization (501c3) that supports, inspires, and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design solutions. We champion industrial design as a tool to address social issues, a vehicle for global life improvement, and a catalyst for individual and community empowerment." I simply cannot get too upset about their victory - especially since the proceeds are going to a project for AIDS orphans in Uganda. Kurt spent over a year in Uganda as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and it changed his life. Having the opportunity to see first hand how little much of the rest of the world lives on, he became an even more ardent environmentalist. He fell in love with the Ugandan people, and was astounded at how they had not let despair overwhem them. So a huge congratulations to Emily and her team, and all good wishes for continued success.

Helping me to wrangle all of this rampaging emotion into perspective is something I found on the blog of our friends over at the Permaculture Activist. It is the Incomplete Manifesto written by designer Bruce Mau (I had it on Ecovillage Musings but never had the chance to explore it, fully or otherwise). It is a wonderful, meaty, brain-expoloding conglomeration of ideas that I can hardly wait to get back to. It seems to encompass everything that I want the Milkweed Mercantile to be and to do: Process is more important than outcome, everyone is a leader, harvest ideas, don't be cool, make mistakes faster, laugh, and power to the people stand out. But YOU take a look, and see what you think. I find it invigorating, and can hardly wait to get started!

1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
11. Harvest ideas. Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.
12. Keep moving. The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.
13. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.
14. Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.
15. Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
16. Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.
17. ____________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.
18. Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world.
19. Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.
20. Be careful to take risks. Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.
21. Repeat yourself. If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.
22. Make your own tools. Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.
23. Stand on someone’s shoulders. You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.
24. Avoid software. The problem with software is that everyone has it.
25. Don’t clean your desk. You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.
26. Don’t enter awards competitions. Just don’t. It’s not good for you.
27. Read only left-hand pages. Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."
28. Make new words. Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.
29. Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
30. Organization = Liberty. Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a 'charming artifact of the past.'
31. Don’t borrow money. Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.
32. Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.
33. Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
34. Make mistakes faster. This isn’t my idea -- I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.
35. Imitate. Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You'll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.
36. Scat. When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else ... but not words.
37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
38. Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.
39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces -- what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference -- the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.
40. Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.
41. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.
42. Remember. Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.
43. Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be free agents if we’re not free.

This is way too looooooonnnnnnnnggggg, with no photos! I'll do better tomorrow!