So one of the things that I've been wanting to do is share recipes. With that in mind, heres the first one.
This is a recipe for spritzers. They're really easy to make, and very fun to use. They can be used as a body spray, or you can use them to scent rooms, linens, your car, and anywhere else you can think of!
1/2 tsp. vodka 12-24 drops essential oil or blend distilled water 50 ml spray bottle
All you have to do is put your oils and vodka (which acts as a preservative) in the bottle and then fill with distilled water. A small funnel can help this process immensely. Also, be sure not to fill the bottle too full, because if you do, it will overflow when you put the spray cap on and you'll lose oil. The amount of essential oil you use will partly depend on the oil (for instance, I usually use about 18 drops of mint, as its a strong oil, whereas with orange, you'd probably want to use 24). In a 50 ml bottle, 12 drops is a 2% dilution and 24 drops is a 4% dilution. You can do greater dilutions, especially if you just want to use the spritzer as a room spray.
Two of my fave spritzer oils are mint, which is great for hot summer days, and patchouli. Lavender and lemon together in equal amounts smell great. Have fun, and experiment! A good aromatherapy book can help you with blends; when I find one, I'll let you know. If you know of one, please let me know. I'm still searching.
A good source for essential oils, carrier oils, bottles and jars is New Directions Aromatics. They have a $10 small order charge on all orders under $100, though, but trust me, its not hard to spend $100 there. They also have locations in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and I'm pretty sure they have one in the UK as well, so they're pretty accessible. You could also try Cranberry Lane in B.C., or Jeans Greens in New York. They're great; they have pretty much any herb you could want, all available in small quantities, lots of do it yourself stuff, and fun products as well.
Theres lots of other supply houses around, and they're pretty easy to find on the internet.
Good luck with your spritzers! Have fun experimenting.
On Tuesday night I saw a movie called "The End of Suburbia". It was about peak oil and how, among other things, suburbia and that way of thinking is completely unsustainable and will very soon be impossible. It was a good movie, but pretty depressing, and it made me think that I could end up being one of those people who stand on a street corner ringing a bell and babbling that the end of the world is near.
I could also feel a part of myself resisting what the movie was saying. I guess there is a part of me that is in denial, even though I know that peak oil is a reality.
For those of you who don't know, peak oil refers to the peak of oil production in the world, after which point it becomes harder to get the oil thats left, because its deeper and needs to be refined more, and also because theres less and less of it.
Oil is a non renewable resource. It is only a matter of time before we run out. And most people, environmentalists, academics and scientists alike, realize that it is not a matter of if peak oil will happen, but rather, when.
Of course, this is totally frightening. Our entire society and economy (basically) depends on oil. Conventional food production, with its petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides, relies heavily on oil, as do most peoples' jobs. Even pens are made with plastic, a petroleum product. (What will we write with? And don't say computers, because they're plastic, too....)
And alternative fuels are really not an alternative. It takes more energy to produce ethanol (a corn based fuel), than you get out of it. Hydrogen fuel cells take water and electricity to make. And again, you end up using more energy to produce than what you get out of it. At our current rate of use, wind, solar and water will never produce enough energy, no matter how many wind turbines we have.
So whats the answer? Well, you better start dreaming and planning for a radically different way of life, and while you're at it, why don't you start living it? Reduce is the first R, and if we could reduce the amount of oil we use, that would at least be a start. But we need to stop driving, and create walkable communities. And surburbia will never be a walkable community (and I'm talking walking to work, walking to shop, etc., not just going out for a walk). So we have to change the suburbia that already exists, and stop creating more.
And theres lots more stuff that you can do. Try and see "The End of Suburbia" if you can; it will be sure to frighten, inspire and motivate. And while we're at it, here in Canada, we may soon be facing a federal election. Why not cast your vote for the Green Party (who happen to be the people who hosted the showing of "The End of Suburbia" in Guelph) and make your vote count. You could also check out the magazine Carbusters for some inspiring, anti-car rhetoric.
We have to reinvision and reinvent our society. Good luck....
Yes, unfortunately, much to my chagrin, it snowed here in Guelph this past weekend. My dad told me it was going to happen, but when I checked the weather network they didn't say a word about snow (wow, imagine, the weather prediction was wrong. Big surprise there). Its also been unseasonally cold here. But the cold and rain are making everything very green, and its actually quite beautiful out.
I also just realized that this is the last week of April. I mean, I knew that, but I don't think I consciously realized it. So suddenly, I've realized that my first show is coming up the third week of June and I still need to do tons of work on my booth (I'm changing the look of it), and mothers day is coming up and I need to work on some stuff from that, and on and on and on. The great thing is, I have a lot of energy and am super motivated to work on this stuff, but theres just so much....Why couldn't I have had some of this energy in January and February, when I wasn't so busy and could have done a lot more. Oh well. Running this business is a constant learning process, and really, I'm loving every minute of it.
But thats all for now, 'cause today is my day off, and I'm going to go enjoy it.
I just got the most completely ridiculous email. It basically said that there was some random international lottery, and I had somehow not only been entered but won US $1.5 million! Give me a break. Who the hell is going to believe that? And of course, when I googled it, it came back SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.
Which reminded me of some other spam scams I've been getting. They all revolve around some rich person in Nigeria or South Africa or somewhere needing to transfer money...and thats about as far as I get into the email before I DELETE. Of course, they all just want your bank account and/or credit card info, or you have to pay some ridiculous up front processing fee. I mean, who are these people?
I actually fell for an internet scam once. It was quite recently, just a few months ago, when I was feeling pretty desperate financially. I was searching on the net for something completely unrelated (prince albert, and no, I wasn't searching to research a history project and I think I just won't get into the reason right now) and one of the google ads that came up said something along the lines of "get paid for your opinion". So I clicked on it, and discovered this site with some of the best website sales writing I've ever read, and got completely hooked, lined and sinkered in about 15 minutes and was handing over $45, which may not seem like a lot, but when you're living as close to broke as I am, thats pretty much food for the week.
Basically, this site was all about how there are all these companies out there who are doing market research and focus groups, and they pay cold hard cash if you'll be so kind as to take part. What the site doesn't say is that it requires a lot of time, energy and work to register with all the different market research firms (which is what you're paying for; access to a database of firms) and they're probably not going to use you anyway.
Now, this is a real thing. Market research does go on, and it is possible to get paid for it. But its not at all as easy as the site that I stumbled upon made it out to be. The reason I fell for the scam? Because I was desperate. Well, because I was desperate and the writing was pretty convincing. But I knew deep down that it was a scam, and that if I thought about it for any length of time I wouldn't do it, and thats why I pounced on it so quickly. Confused? Well, thats what these scams do. And even though we know they're scams, they play on our fears and desperation and get us to buy into them. They manipulate our emotions. And they completely suck ass.
So be warned. There are lots of jerks out there, trying to make a dishonest living off the insecurities of others. Remember, if its too good to be true, it probably is.
(Oh, and just a note. Another thing on this market research site that I got scammed off of was a little note that said, "This is not a scam. If it was, the bank that processes our credit card payments would have stopped long ago," and they named the bank, which for the life of me I can't remember. So after trying to work with the database for a day or two and realizing that it was basically impossible, I searched on the net and found the bank, contacted them and told them it was basically a cleverly disguised scam and asked for my money back, which I got, minus $5, which I assume went for some sort of processing fee. Who knows? Maybe its all part of the scam. But anyways, losing $5 is way better than losing $45, so the story had a happy ending.)
A little while ago, a friend of mine emailed me an article written by one of her fave columnists, and he has quickly become one of mine. His name is Mark Morford, and he writes for the SF Gate, and he is great! Hes sarcastic and funny and contrary and a left wing and just completely goddamned funny and totally worth reading.
The first article of his I read was about dildos and how they are outlawed in a handful of states. I mean, what the hell is that all about? So as you can imagine (or maybe you can't, but after reading the article you'll be able to), I immediately fell in love with this guys passion and run on sentences. But I didn't do anything about it until my friend sent me yet another article, this time on the subject of the new pope. After reading that one, I realized that I needed to be getting this guys articles every Wednesday and Friday delivered right to my inbox. So I subscribed a few days ago and now I know that at least two days a week when I go to check my email in the desperate hope that there'll be something in there and I'll know someone cares, well, someone does.
my dubious love affair with a weekly news magazine
Okay, so I love Macleans. You know, the Canadian newsweekly? I think I got onto it through Ahrens' boss. He has a subscription and (sometimes) remembers to pass them on to me.
I'm not sure why I love it. I guess because its really my only connection to whats going on in Canada and the world. I don't watch tv, I don't read papers. Sometimes I listen to CBC and hear the news every (f***ing) half hour, but mostly, I get my news from Macleans.
But theres gotta be more than that. Well, Macleans definitely isn't right wing, and I think its farther left than centre, but its definitely not a hardcore, left wing magazine. I think thats part of why I like it, too. I have to say it, and you can all witness my confession...I would rather read something like Macleans, that to me has the sort of left wing kind of view that seems more based in reality, than some of the hardcore, underground, activist lefty stuff out there. Not that that stuff is bad, and not that Macleans is all good. They definitely print some wretched, stupid stuff. But I really enjoy reading something that a lot of the rest of Canada is reading. It helps me figure out what everyone else is thinking.
The fact that there articles are chock full of sarcasm doesn't hurt, either. I happen to love a good sarcatic rant.
Macleans has a column called "Over To You" that anyone can submit to. Thats another thing I love about it. In this column, everyday sort of people write in and rant about...whatever. One recent column I wrote was by a 26 year old native guy whos name is Wabgueshing (I'm sure I spelled that wrong; my apologies). And the column was all about his name. I read one by a mother who had only one child, and how everyone thought she should have more, and how it was cruel to the child to only have one (because they'd be an only child) but how she only wanted one child (hooray for people who consciously make decisions about childrearing! We need more of them). Anyways, my love affair with the mag has now morphed into the goal of being publlished in its pages. We'll see how that one goes. I'll keep you updated.
So I really recommend that you check it out. Something wonderful I just discovered was that my local library (I love libraries!) has a subscription, and you can take out all but the current issue. I'm sure other libraries have this same feature, so support your local library and read Macleans! And a little more of an aside, if you like sarcastic political musings, I recommend Paul Wells column on the back page of Macleans. Hes a new fave of mine. And I just discovered that he has a weblog, so if you're in need of a quick fix, check it out.
Tomorrow I'll tell you about another of my new favourite columnists.
These past few days have been pretty emotional for me. There are some major things going on in my personal life, and everything sort of came to a head yesterday. Without going into lots of detail out of respect for the privacy of those who this involves, I'll just say that yesterday something happened involving someone very close to me, and while I thought it was the right thing at the time, I'm now beset by second thoughts and second guessing.
Not that what happened was even my fault. I told the truth, and expressed my worries, out of regard for this persons safety. But the end result leaves me sad and wondering if I should have lied, or simply not told the whole truth. And it makes me wonder about the institutionalization of care in our culture.
So what happened is, the person who I was talking about a few days ago, who is dealing with depression, was admitted to a mental hospital yesterday for an assesment, as it was thought that this person was at a possible risk of doing themselves harm. And while at the time I was scared and worried and thought that this was best, I'm now wondering if those of us around this person are just lazy. You know, the going got tough, and we got outta there. Because even though this hospital is not a bad place, in fact, it seems pretty good, as good as this kind of place can be, no one wants to be in a hospital, no matter what kind. We all just want to be safe at home.
So now I'm left second guessing. Did we do the right thing?
The interesting thing is, this person actually seemed better today. So maybe everything is going to work out as it should. Of course it will. Deep down, I know that everything happens for a reason, and there is a lesson in this, for all of us who are affected by it. But the reality is, I still feel sad.
But for now, I'll just say goodnight and so much good energy to this beautiful person, and don't worry, everything will work out fine, and you'll be out in no time...and please don't forget, I love you.
This weekend I was reminded of two things: how lovely it is to live in community, and how shitty it is to live in community.
Over a year and a half ago, Ahren and I decided to buy a house with two good friends of ours, Josh and Anwen. The house is a duplex, so we each get our own half, but its all on one title. Its been really wonderful for all of us; we all share one car, we take turns making dinner for each other once a week and Ahren and I get to spend lots of time with Josh and Anwen's daughter Aurora, who also happens to be our goddaughter.
One of the best things about this living arrangment is where we live. Our house is on a quiet street in downtown Guelph. It also happens to be right across the street from Anwen's parents house, which used to be Ahren's parents house, and which he lived in until he was 11 and the house was sold to Anwen's family. Add to that Sue, our wonderful next door neighbour, and Gareth, Kristal and their soon to be 3 year old daugther Tessa (who happens to be a great playmate for Aurora) and you have the makings of one of the best neighbourhoods I've ever experienced. Plus theres a few other characters around as well who make this a great place to live. We've had potlucks, parties, and informal hangouts on the lawn after a day of gardening. It's wonderful.
However, all is not perfect in the land of Liverpool. We also have a few neighbours who are not quite as happy with us as our friends are. Yesterday, Josh and Anwen got a talking to from one of them, regarding the horrid state of our property, and how this used to be such a beautiful house, and now look at it.
Okay, deep breath here required on my part. Maybe Ahren is a bit of a pack rat, and theres some unsightly stuff in the (gigantic) driveway (which we intend to tear up and garden, anyway). But its a lot better than it was, and whats left really doesn't amount to much (as long as you can overlook the huge pile of woodchips in the driveway). And speaking of woodchips, I have a feeling that what really sent this neighbour over the edge was the fact that Ahren and I spent our Sunday tarping the boulevard and covering it in woodchips. This person doesn't happen to like how it looks, and is hoping we're going to keep at least some grass! (Um, sorry, that would be no...unless you count native grasses.)
And saying that this used to be a beautiful house...? Sorry, but theres no way in hell you could see that. This house was and still remains ugly. It used to be red brick, then stucco, but now it is white siding gone gray with time and some very ugly angel stone on the front. As for the outside, sure, maybe it used to be attractive, if you like big driveways, sprayed lawns, tiny border gardens and pressure treated wood. However, we like, well, none of those things. And of course, we don't just plan to tarp the whole property and leave it like that for good. Tarping is just a way to kill the grass so we can garden it up. And we covered the tarps with chips because we thought they'd be a whole lot nicer to look at than plastic.
Anyways, I was fuming when I heard that this neighbour had pounced on Josh and Anwen, with Aurora in tow, and proceeded to chastise them in a very rude manner. However, Josh was very diplomatic, and later in the afternoon he and Anwen went over to talk to this person again, explain what we were doing, and try to meet halfway. Definitely the right thing to do.
And what did I do? I started to cover the rest of the front lawn with tarps and woodchips. Happy gardening!
I love the weekend. First of all, theres market. For someone like me, who works on there own at home, its really nice in a lot of ways to have to get up and be somewhere once a week. Its also really nice to have a sales outlet, because at this time of year, its pretty much my only one, and god knows I have to eat! So market is great.
Its a very social time as well. If you've never been to a farmers market, I highly recommend them. There is so much fun stuff there; lots of locally grown food, and beautiful crafts made by local artisans. The Guelph market is especially good. Its right downtown, and is a big part of the downtown community. Accordingly, you get to see a lot of friendly faces, eat good foor...its wonderful!
But, as a craft vendor, market is a crapshoot. Sometimes its really good....and sometimes its not. At this point at least, its little more than grocery money. I'm sure Christmas will be good, and as I build up a clientele there sales will improve, but it can definitely be a bit dicey, not to mention disheartening, when you're trying to make a go of something and its not working quite as you hoped it would.
So yesterday was absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful Saturday, and people were out and apparently into spending money, because I had my best day ever, by far! It was great; I'm actually going to be able to put some money in the bank!
The other reason why market is great is because once its over, my weekend begins. Up until a couple of weeks ago I basically worked all the time, and when I wasn't working I would feel guilty that I wasn't working. But recently, I found myself asking, who is making me feel guilty? Who is making me feel that I have to work all the time? Part of the reason I want to have my own business is because I want to have a more relaxed schedule; I don't want to work the Monday-Friday, 9-5 job, or any variation thereof, and I definitely don't want to be working seven days straight. So why do I feel like I have to?
Its very easy to do that when you work for yourself out of your home. It can be hard to have boundries. So a few weeks ago, I decided that I would take Sunday and Monday off. It was pretty much happening anyways, but I just felt guilty about it. I always took Sunday off, but I felt like I should work Monday, and I even sometimes felt like I should work on Saturday after market, which is hilarious because even though market is a blast, its also such an energy output that by the end I actually have trouble talking, because I've been doing it so much!
So now, when market is over, I come home and start my weekend. And what a lovely weekend it is. Yesterday involved sitting on my porch, eating, drinking beer, reading, doing yoga on the lawn, hanging out with neighbours (have I ever mentioned that I live in an absolutely wonderful neighbourhood?). At night we went out for dinner with Ahren's family.
Today is going to be a gardening day. We are on a mission to remove grass and put in gardens. And then later tonight Ahren and I will make dinner, and watch a movie, and just generally relax. I love the weekend.
As I mentioned yesterday, I'm currently dealing with a person with depression. On top of that, I a friend of mine was hit by a car on Tuesday and only escaped death because she was wearing a helmet. Seriously.
My friend was biking down the street around 7 and was going through an intersection. A man, who had the setting sun right in his eys, turned right in front of her. She ran into the car and hit one of the hardest parts with her head, and dented it. She was unconcious for several hours and her face is badly beat up; lots of stiches and bruises. I saw her last night and was totally shocked. I hadn't realized how bad it was until I saw her. A cop told her that if she hadn't been wearing her helmet, she would be dead. So WHERE YOUR HELMETS if you bike.
On top of that, my friends family's barn burnt down.
I don't know if anyone out there has ever had to deal with someone who is clinically depressed, but I'm here to tell you that it is a hard, stressful, emotionally draining thing to do.
Someone in my life who's very close to me is suffering from this disease right now. For the past four days in a row, I've been at her house, trying to help her and her partner out.
It's hard for me, but I know it's even harder for her partner. He is her caregiver, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I spend a few mornings with her and I'm feeling like a wreck myself, so I can't even imagine what he's feeling.
She is agitated, anxious, afraid. She can't eat, she can't sleep. She has started talking about hurting herself.... This is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to deal with. Its hard to explain the extent of the problem to someone who has never been in a similar situation. Serious depression isn't just being 'down'. You can't talk someone out of it. There is pretty much nothing you can say to make them feel better. There is a chemical imbalance in the brain (at least in this case), and before that is dealt with, nothing else will work.
So this woman is taking meds, and as sceptical as I am regarding pharmaceuticals, I'm thankful that shes taking them. I went with her and her partner today to see the doctor, and he seemed like a genuinely nice, caring man, and I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. And thats what is so unfortunate about our society, I suppose. You get sick, you go to the doctor. They work with the knowledge they have and believe, and try to help you. The only problem there is that they are heavily influenced by Big Pharma. But I've got to tell you, it is hard to refuse these things. It is already so draining just to deal with this person, let alone try to research and implement dietary changes and natural products that can help. And I think that when you're faced with something so serious, you just fall back on what you were brought up on; namely, that the doctor will make you better (at least in this case).
But regardless of what avenue of treatment you seek, if you are depressed or know someone who is, seek treatment. Depression is a highly treatable disease, but only about 1/3 of all people who suffer from it seek help. Don't wait. And if you are a caregive for someone who is depressed, remember to try not to get frustrated or angry, and to take time for yourself. Because you have to keep yourself healthy, too.
If anyone else has any other suggestions, please send them in. We need all the help we can get.
I took dance from when I was five until I was twenty. Over the years I took ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, pointe, acro and modern. Modern was the dance form I discovered the latest, and its also become my favourite.
My first modern teacher was Janet Johnson, a woman who lived in Guelph. She was absolutely incredible, and she has always been my favourite modern teacher, and really my favourite teacher of any kind.
Well, its been a few years, but shes finally started teaching again. So now, for the next several weeks, I get to take class with her every Wednesday night. Tonight was the second night of an eight week session, and it is absolutely incredible to feel my body move that way again.
On another note, the soap I made yesterday turned out just fine, thank the soap gods and goddesses, and I'm so excited for it. Both batchs are purple (thanks to a plant called ratanjot). One is straight purple and the other is white with a purple swirl. The swirled one is a beautiful woody smell, and the other is lavender bay, which is absolutely incredible. I'm not sure what I'm going to call them...
Tomorrow is another soap day. I'm making two unscented bars: oatmeal and honey, and a cocoa and calendula soap for babies. I'm so excited! Of course, that means that I have to now unmold yesterdays soap, as I only have two molds, and strain the calendula oil I made today...well, maybe I'll get up early and do that tomorrow. Right now, a shower and dinner sounds just about right.
It was supposed to be a nice, relaxed soap day. Hah. What should have been a normal work day turned into something else all together, and here it is, 9:20 and I haven't even eaten dinner today.
Instead of starting out the day at 10 or so as planned, I found myself dealing with some family stuff that has come up recently, and I didn't get home until close to 2. Well, I was determined to still make my two batchs of soap as planned, so after lunch, a talk with my good friend and neighbour Anwen and a quick clean up, I dove into my soap making.
Making a batch of soap takes me about 2-2 1/2 hours, depending on a myriad of variables. And it can take even longer. So you can do the math...I didn't start until after three, and didn't finish until 8:30. I'm working with a slightly different soap recipe now, and the last time I made it, it was a dream...quick to put together, quick to get to the right temperature, and quick to trace (this probably doesn't make sense if you've never made soap, and I promise to explain soapmaking in detail at some point). However, today the first two steps were still quick, but the soap took a long time to trace, which is basically the point at which you can add your essential oils and whatnot and pour it into the molds. One batch I stirred for 45 minutes, and the other for and hour. And you better believe that I've got a sore neck now. And to top it off, I'm not even sure if they're going to work out. They were tracing very minimally, but I just couldn't stir anymore. But I won't know until tomorrow....I'll let you know how they turn out.
Immediately after the soap was tucked away in the molds and the kitchen was clean, I got on the dinner train, which is ready now and just waiting for me to dig in, after which, if I'm still hungry, I'm going to dig into the peach crisp that I also threw together with peaches frozen from last summer, because after a day this long....
Hello everyone. So this is my very own, brand new blog, so I can rant at length about whatever I feel like...
So it seems like spring is finally here. Yesterday, my partner Ahren and I went on a 3 1/2 hour canoe ride from Rockwood to Guelph...it was so very very lovely. We generally do this canoe (or a version of it, usually only from Eden Mills to Guelph)every spring, when the water is high and you can actually canoe the whole way, as opposed to dragging the canoe half the time. Its so beautiful out there, the blue of the sky, the white, streaky clouds, the horizon filled with trees, and so what if you can still hear the occasional car and you see tons of other people out enjoying the day as well? Its much better than spending an unseasonally warm day stuck in the city.
The only problem is, both of us are sick of using commercial sunscreens, even the natural brands, because they are still full of parabens and hormone disruptors. So both of us, but me especially, ended up burned, and last night my forearms were so hot and red and painful so I sliced open two aloe vera leaves and slathered their gel all over my arms.
I've just recently gotten some titanium dioxide and soon I will be making my very own sunblock, so I can feel good about what I'm putting on my skin. And while I'm thinking of it, and after sun lotion would be a good thing to develop, as well.
So far I've only heard from two of the shows I applied to, the Hillside Festival in Guelph and Summerfolk in Owen Sound. I got into both. They're both great fun, but I especially recommend Hillside. This year its July 22, 23 and 24, and its always great fun.
Anyways, today is supposed to be my day off, and the house is just screaming to be swept and the sweater that I'm knittig to be finished, so I'm going to take off for now, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow.
