Happiness is a Warm Microphone

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

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”

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!

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

"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

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!

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!