Healthier cleaning

Growing up I knew that some of the things under the sink were dangerous, but most things my parents used to clean windows, sinks, floors, tubs and more were not seriously dangerous. Today it seems that just about every cleaning item is. And people don't want those kinds of things in their homes.

At the same time, when I was growing up cleaning was hard work, and those chemicals that crept into the cleaning products over the years were intended to make life "easier" and "save time" while imparting a lovely "fresh" scent. But it seems that was short term easy because illness is hard. And I've never understood what happened to all that time that was saved, if it was...

Now we seem to be circling back to the old ways, and that may just involve taking more time and elbow grease to get things clean. I'm really ok with that. What about you?

How can we...

There is much work that needs to be done to create a food system that is sustainable, healthy, profitable and fair. And there are those who say that it can't be done, that healthy food is inevitably going to be out of the reach of the less well off. That it isn't possible to change a culture that is addicted to convenience (even at the expense of health) and disconnected from the seasonal patterns that defined an earlier time. But I refuse to believe that we don't have the grit required to tackle this.

Truth lies in the the statement: "the answers you get depend on the questions you ask." There are people out there who are making attempts to change the system, bit by bit, brick by brick. Asking "how can we create..." is so much more helpful than trying to "fix" something broken. Fixing something without being clear on whether it will work toward a desired future or deliver more of the same is wasting time, resources and spirit.

"Fair Food: growing a healthy, sustainable food system for all" by Oran B. Herserman, PhD provides some jumping off points for people willing to take the risk of going against the grain of the current food system. But if you are like me, it won't feel like a risk, but rather just a logical step toward a better future.

You can learn more about this at the book's website. Oh, and I don't make anything if you buy the book there or anywhere else.

America's soil needs amending

Just like the soil in the garden requires attention to ensure that it maintains its proper balance and distribution of nutrients, it seems our country's culture requires some attention as well. Many people have written about the huge gap between the wealthiest individuals and the least well off. But like a garden requires weeding, watering, occasional soil amendment and crop rotation to do its best and be most productive, we all need to realize our dependence upon each other for success in this culture. There was a particularly good editorial today that addresses this in the New York Times. Read it here.

Included in that editorial was a quote from Elizabeth Warren, who is running for Senate in Massachusetts and who captured this sentiment exactly for me:

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there, good for you. But, I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory and hire someone to protect against this because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”


Gardeners know that you can't just take and take and take from the garden. You have to invest in it as well. No one is entitled to a perfect garden. Or a perfect country. It takes work. 

Image from Rhinestone Armadillo blog

Back to the future

Last year about this time I wrote a series on the Simple, Good and Tasty site (www.simplegoodandtasty.com) about 21st Century farming. It was about my belief that we were experiencing a renaissance in farming, particularly small scale farming. I see it happening, but, then again, just because I see it, doesn't mean its a national trend.

Recently Slow Food USA's newsletter carried an article from USA Today that said exactly the same thing. I am so pleased to be right :-). It is a hopeful sign that there is a re-focusing on the farming lifestyle. Perhaps we are going back to a work ethic of a prior time, now with the benefit of technology that our ancestors didn't have. A work ethic and a sense of place and pride. A connection to the earth and a respect. I do hope it's not too much to ask. And hope it's not too late....

What if....

In today's New York Times there was a wonderful article about how an MIT physicist has made himself and other scientists more accessible by doing simple podcast interviews that don't dumb down the complex issues they deal with and at the same time expose the human side of these very intelligent people. To read the article, click here.

His series, Cambridge Nights: Conversations About a Life in Science, is an example of the often overlooked importance of simply talking with others. Being curious. Being open. Which implies lots of listening. Listening is like a nutrient for a plant - something that is necessary for it to flourish. Talking to ourselves isn't good, and talking to those who don't care isn't good either. Talking to someone who is engaged and really listens brings out the best in us, maybe even causing us to come to new conclusions when we hear what we say in answer to questions.

Not surprisingly, the physicist, Dr. Hidalgo, works in an area that seems to hold promise for new types of economies. Ones that nurture participants in them. The closing sentence of the article tells all:

"Perhaps not coincidentally, Dr. Hidalgo’s own research focuses on human economies and draws parallels in the evolution of industrial economies and biological ecosystems."

In the Box

Today is the first day that I am writing in my....wait for it.....studio. Yes, an actual artist's studio at St. Joseph Michigan's Box Factory for the Arts. Number 23 Riverwalk in the lower level of the building. It feels a little pretentious to call myself an artist, but it's a moniker that has followed me around in one form or another for a long time. A "communication artist" was the term used by a career/life coach in the past. It felt not completely false so I lived with it and it has become something I can say without snickering. 

The goal of driving round trip about an hour to a place I had to be approved by a board to rent and paying rent every month use to have a place to write? Excellent question. One I don't have a full answer to and may not until the end of the year, if then. But in part it is to acknowledge the fact that writing is something that I need to do. In some ways it is as much a part of me as breathing. In other ways it is as difficult as telling someone that you don't love them any more. Whatever its relationship to me, this is a place where nothing but writing will occur. And where I am completely focused on writing.

What will I write? Another good question. I don't have grand plans for a novel or an essay or poem. I just know that I have so much in my head that needs to be captured. It is a way that I learn; after seeing what I've written about something I either understand it more deeply, in a new way or know that I still have work to do. Or perhaps I can finally put it aside and say; enough, there isn't sufficient time, energy, interest to do more. And that will be ok. 

Bottom line: chances are good that in the future when you see a post to this blog, it was written in this little oddly shaped, basement room that is devoid of all but the bare necessities - desk, chair, bookshelf, lamp and writing instruments. (I still use paper and pen as well as a computer.) Like with a good meal, simple ingredients well prepared result in amazing dishes. I can only hope the same for my writing. 

Winter finally arrived

While it won't be a major storm, in terms of snow depth, winter has finally arrived with a temperature drop, slick roads and a blustery, blowy snowy gray day. It's time. Celery on my deck that should have long since gone dormant was apparently growing quite nicely thank you. Ornamentals that bloom in spring near my front door were hardily big-leafed. I have been concerned that my 100s of bulbs of garlic, planted (in theory when the time was right) would be growing and then get snapped into senselessness when it did finally turn cold. I don't think the garlic broke the ground, but in all honesty, haven't looked for the last 10 days because I couldn't do anything about it if it had.

We've slipped into the time of year when seed catalogues give hope of the bounty to come. But more and more weather is less dependably cooperative than I remember it being in years past. There have always been droughts, floods, late summers and early winters. But the violence of the weather in the recent past is frightening. Gardeners who eschew chemicals fertilizers and weed control are regularly given lessons in humility by Mother Nature. I think we are heading into a future of graduate classes. I hope I pass.