Of Fire and Impermanence

There are several wildfires burning in and around our area this very dry Spring. Two days ago, the fire was within a few miles of our place: the picture to the right is the view from the top of our driveway that evening. There were burnt pine needles and ash floating around and down - we could see them on our driveway and sidewalk. We've had fires around here before, but never one so close that we had ash floating down on us. That evening, we received news that both the mandatory and recommended evacuation areas were expanding, and that they would likely include us. So, we started packing.

Making things even more interesting was the fact that I had just picked Gord up from the hospital a few hours earlier, having been released that day following hip surgery earlier in the week. So we packed even more lightly than we otherwise would have, since any time we had after receiving evacuation notice would be better spent getting Gord and our two guinea pigs into the car rather than putting any material goods in there. It was a surreal experience to say the least.

We had our garden hoses hooked up to the taps outside, and fire extinguishers at both doors. I had the car turned around in the driveway, ready to head out if we got the word to leave. About halfway through the evening our telephone landline died, lending an even stranger tone to the evening. We have poor cell phone service but managed to call my parents to make arrangements to stay with them if necessary.

What do you pack when your house might burn down and as a set you can't move very quickly? As it turns out, not very much. Looking around the house while packing, there wasn't a lot that I decided was essential. I packed a change of clothes and some toiletries, an emergency radio, the mortgage papers, a handwritten book of recipes from my mom, our wedding photos and DVD, an album of childhood pictures, and that was about all. Gord hobbled around on crutches getting together his laptop, external hard drive and some business papers. We had our guinea pig carriers and some guinea pig food at the ready as well.

It was a strange evening, watching the news on TV, wishing the phone would start working again, checking Twitter and the internet for updates, listening for a knock on the door from the firefighters telling us we had to go. Thankfully, that knock never came, but needless to say we did not have a restful night.

Today, two days later, most of our gathered things remain packed and by the door. Phone service is restored. The fires have not gotten bigger, but are still burning close by. The ash has stopped falling from the sky, and the winds have died down. There was even a bit of rain overnight, and some more again today. We hope that in the next couple days the fires will be put out or at least become controlled.

The whole "wildfire coming this way" experience got me thinking. Most profoundly, about how much of the stuff I have that I didn't even consider packing - which is 99.99% of the stuff I have. And about how quickly things can, and do, change. One minute we're looking forward to just getting comfy and watching the hockey game, and the next minute we're getting ready to bug out in a hurry, maybe for a good long time.

Nothing's permanent, anything can change at any time. Getting a hands-on lesson about this was a good thing, and it sure does make me appreciate the here-and-now in a much more authentic way. The trick is to remember this even when the ash has stopped falling from the sky!

Standing Still

Today is the day the sun stands still, at the southernmost point in its journey across the horizon. In my area of Alberta, the sun will rise today at 8:48 a.m., with the precise time of the solstice being 5: 04 a.m. Today we will have just 7 hours and 27 minutes of daylight. I like the winter solstice. It means we've made it through the longest darkness and things will start to get lighter again.

But this year I think I will appreciate the stillness most of all. For a few days before and after the solstice, the sun appears to rise from the same spot on the horizon every day. Things slow down, and seemingly come to a halt for a little while, at least from the point of view of we humans standing on the earth and looking at the sun.

I think we could all use some of this stillness this year - I know I can. I need a respite from the onslaught of news, a hiatus from worry. A time to just appreciate that rest is good, that there is value in sitting still and in refraining from busy-ness. In a few days, the Sun will start rising northwards again, and there will be celebrations for the birth of a Son (coincidence? I don't think so.) But for now, for today, let's just be still and be thankful for a planet to live on and a distant star to keep us warm.

As for the challenges to come to move from darkness to light in this society, I'll think about that tomorrow.

Picture courtesy this website

A few nice things....

I've had a few neat experiences over the last week that made me smile:

• The lady I buy my honey-based face moisturizer from at the farmer's market said she would refill my plastic containers for me.
• I ran out of the dried sage leaves I picked over the summer for my tea, and I found a really good deal on a sage plant at a local nursery that should get me through the winter.
• One of the guards at work told me how he makes his own dry oatmeal raisin mixture to take to work for breakfast, and just adds boiling water to cook it when he gets to work. I'm going to copy him. Now I don't have to buy the pre-packaged (and sugar-filled) stuff anymore.
  
• My dad showed me how he's hooked up his furnace to deep cycle batteries and an inverter in case the power goes out. The same set up will be good to hook up to a solar panel.
• Gord and the 'bag girl' at the grocery store chatted about being vegetarian while packing our groceries into our cloth bags.
  

Just a few nice things to be grateful for....

Picture courtesy this website

Nothing or Something?

This weekend Gord and went 'out' and did three different things in one night: we went to a movie at the cheap theatre (and saw Wall-E), we went for snacks afterward at a nearby restaurant and then went to see a live comedy show (Gord had been given free tickets). This kind of "going out" is a rarity for us - we talk about going out for dinner and a movie but we never seem to actually go. I'd say we do get out for a movie about once a year, maybe.

We had a great time doing all these things this weekend - the movie was adorable and the comedy hilarious! The snacks were just passable, making me appreciate home-cooked things even more than I already do. The evening's events got me thinking, though:

How often when someone asks what you've been doing do you say, "oh, nothing much." It occurred to me that if someone asked me what I did this weekend I would have three whole things to talk about for a change, instead of saying, "oh, nothing."

But I always feel vaguely uneasy saying I did "nothing much," because my weekends are usually full of all sorts of stuff, like cooking or baking, gardening, reading books, having tea, sitting on the porch, blogging, doing laundry, doing yardwork, cleaning the guinea pigs' cage, playing with the guinea pigs, making supper, doing dishes, visiting family, reading blogs, thinking about stuff and talking to Gord about it, etc. Is this nothing? Or is it something? And if it is indeed 'something,' then why don't I talk about it like I would talk about having gone to dinner and a movie?

I've just finished reading Sharon Astyk's book, Depletion and Abundance. In it, she talks about the "home front" and how really important things happen at home. For example, the growing and preparing of food, the working together as a couple or a family, the learning of self-sufficient tasks and teaching these to others, the taking care of each other in everyday, simple ways. This stuff might not make headlines, but it sure doesn't sound like 'nothing.'

Chapter 4 of the Tao Te Ching also has something to say about the paradoxical fullness of nothing:

The Tao is empty
When utilized, it is not filled up
So deep! It seems to be the source of all things

It blunts the sharpness
Unravels the knots
Dims the glare
Mixes the dusts

So indistinct! It seems to exist
I do not know whose offspring it is
Its image is the predecessor of the Emperor

I don't pretend to know exactly what this chapter all means, but I do know that the kind of things that could be considered doing nothing, are the exact things I need to keep me going and to feel contentment and gratitude. Indeed, my weekends of 'nothing' can certainly become "the source of all things" that keeps me going throughout the week.

So the next time someone asks me what I've been up to, maybe I'll say with an enigmatic smile, "nothing, and everything."

Candles

People who read this blog now and then may have noticed that I have a tendency to be all enthusiastic and hopeful sometimes, and all upset and ranty at other times. I would like to be more consistently hopeful and uplifting in the things that I post, but sometimes life just "grinds my crackers" as our lovable blogger Crunchy Chicken would say.

I've enjoyed Crunchy's Blog for quite a while - I think hers was the second 'green' blog I started reading, right after No Impact Man. These and many other bloggers (see sidebar!) have given me hope and lifted my spirits many times over the past two years or so. Even their rants make me hopeful, because when we get mad in the name of a good cause and then do something about it, we reclaim just a little bit more of our voice, our citizenship, and even our humanity.

Just recently I came across another blog, called A Buddhist Perspective. And I found it just at the time when I needed to collect myself, quiet my spirit and just slow down. Funny how things happen like that - a Taoist wu wei moment while finding a Buddhist blog - is that neat or what? And lo and behold, right around the same time I found another Alberta blogger, SoapBoxTech who is concerned about the environment too, and who is looking to reject greed and 'nudge people awake'.

While smiling about my two new finds, a line from a childhood song popped into my mind: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine." And then I thought: All these blogs, they are like candles. They are little lights, shining in the darkness. Each of these blogs represents a person or a group of people who are passionate about the whole of the Earth, and who want to live simply and gratefully within its means. And they aren't afraid to talk about it - About the ups and downs, the hopes and the frustrations.

Thanks to all of you for shining, especially when times seem dark.

Real and Surreal

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to go on a tour of many of the homeless and emergency shelters, and detox-centers in Edmonton's inner city. As I've mentioned before, I work in a jail and the mentally ill people I work with there utilize the services of these places quite frequently when they are out in the community. It was good to see these places for myself, to know where they are and get to know a bit how they operate so I'm in a better position to understand my inmate clients' reality. The person leading the tour made a telling comment at one point in the afternoon: "being homeless is a full time job."

I found out that while there are quite a few places to get food in our city, there are hardly any places to sleep if you don't have a home of your own. (In the winter, this can be a big problem here, since it gets down to -30C regularly at night.) You have to get in line early to be sure to get a mat on the floor for the night, in a room of 65-70 or more other people on their mats for the night. Then get in line again for breakfast a few blocks away before it's all gone, and put your name on the list to use the washer or dryer or telephone, which may sometimes actually work. Cart around your few belongings and try to stay out of the way of the aggressive drug dealers or gang members who might 'roll' you for fun, or for your meds or workboots, or just because they can. Pick some bottles to get some cash, maybe apply at a temporary labor agency but be turned down because you don't have any work boots, and no place for them to call you to tell you had the job, even if you did have work boots. Go back to the public health clinic to pick up your psych meds. All of this before lining up early for dinner again, and wolfing it down so you can get in line for a sleeping mat. All day long, the realities of where you are going to sleep and eat are staring you in the face, along with the realities of how to ensure personal safety and how to make some kind of legit money.

I contrast this with the surreal nature of what I've been hearing and seeing in the media, more so lately. Large investment banks whose avaricious practices have caught up with them, now want taxpayers to fund their greed (and apparently their wish has been granted, thanks to another round of fear mongering). Citizens' money worked for and saved over decades is sucked into the abyss of failing banks. Rather than talking about things that matter, our politicians try to out-insult each other so they can become our new 'leaders.' The effects of melamine-tainted food products on Chinese babies are kept under wraps so the Olympics can go off without a hitch. Amateur and professional sporting events are 'fixed' so you can't even be sure that when your team wins, they actually won. Everything is artificial or contrived, if not a boldfaced lie. Do we live in a democratic society anymore, or is it mostly fascist now?

Maybe this is what an existential crisis feels like? When I sit and listen to the news I mostly just gape and shake my head, wondering what really exists, and what is just 'impression management' and 'spin.' Maybe the movie, The Matrix, wasn't so fictional after all? Who can even tell? What does a person hang on to while the house of cards falls?

I imagine that the homeless people I saw yesterday would tell me bluntly that my 'existential crisis' is a luxury they can't afford. They would deride me for ever having thought the house of cards was real in the first place, and shake me out of my foggy delusions. Then, they would get back down to the business of dealing in the everyday realities of finding shelter, food and a measure of safety in their community. In some ways, the mentally ill people I work with are less deluded and more practical than society at large. I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn from them, and thankful for the reality check. It's time to buckle down and get to work.

Reading through the Tao Te Ching today, I notice this chapter, which seems fitting given the news of the 'bailout' in the US announced this morning:

Chapter 53

If I have a little knowledge
Walking on the great Tao
I fear only to deviate from it
The great Tao is broad and plain
But people like the side paths

The courts are corrupt
The fields are barren
The warehouses are empty

Officials wear fineries
Carry sharp swords
Fill up on drinks and food
Acquire excessive wealth
This is called robbery
It is not the Tao!

The Anthropocentric Weather Report

This morning I was listening to the CBC as usual during my 45 minute commute to work. Also as usual, the announcers were going through the regular news, traffic and weather reports at various intervals. When it came time for the weather, the announcer said something to the effect of how disappointing it was that she couldn't say we were in for a "lovely day" again, like last week, because it was raining. The host of the show replied in kind, bemoaning that it was a rainy, windy and miserable day. And I thought, wait a minute, that's only true from a human point of view.

From the point of view of the grass, trees and the ducks in the nearly dry wetland area near my house, today is actually a very lovely day. About 10 - 20 millimeters of rain are expected to fall today. The land is really in need of this, considering the unseasonably warm and dry weather we've had for the past two weeks or so. Speaking anthropocentrically, it has been a really nice Fall so far, with mild temperatures, no rain, and almost completely sunny days.

That weather report illustrated to me once again how disconnected a lot of us humans are from nature most of the time. Surely after two weeks of sun, a little rain is a good thing? It reminded me too, of how much we humans like our undisturbed comfort, and how we almost seem to take it for granted and feel entitled to it at the same time.

I've certainly been guilty of feeling resentful towards the weather, especially towards the combination of rain and wind, and especially on a work day. It messes up my hair and splatters my glasses, while I struggle to hold on to my umbrella and avoid stepping into puddles, all the while dodging the water spraying from passing cars' tires. But then there are the days on the weekend when I relish going out into the rain, with my silly hat on, to weed the garden or fill up the rain barrel. I like feeling that rain plunking down on my head and smelling that smell of wet grass. Feeling my rubber boots squish in the dirt and hearing the raindrops patter on the leaves. That is a "lovely day," in my view. And maybe walking to work in the rain with my umbrella isn't so bad either.

Picture courtesy this Flickr site

Returning to Simple Things

It's the simple things that get me through. I was glad to have had a reminder of that today.

I've been so riled up about the wetland drainage and so frustrated about the way the Canadian election campaign is going that I lost sight of the satisfaction in little things. Today for some reason the little things stuck with me, and made me smile.

The first thing I appreciated was my visit to my favorite used bookstore after work. I had a nice muffin and a chai latte, chatted with the new owner of the shop and picked up a good book on medicinal and practical uses of essential oils, as well as a novel by Miriam Toews I'd heard so much about.

The next nice thing was a visit to the farmer's market, where the honey lady and the cucumber lady both recognized me, and where I heard a little kid say while running, "Mom, look for the pickles Mom!" And I heard the mom reply, "The pickles will be on the right side, honey!"

So, no matter who wins or loses this election, there will still be good books and good people, still much to be thankful for. I needed to remember that today. I'll try to remember it tomorrow, too.

CSA Bounty: Week 5, and a short hiatus

Whew, it's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm behind on posting about my CSA goodies again. I picked up this delectable bunch of stuff last Tuesday, so much it needed to be in a box, not a bag this time. There were two heads of lettuce (red leaf and butter), more spring onions, a bunch of radishes, baby beats and their delicious leaves, another big bunch of chard and joy of joys, some strawberries! I almost forgot to take a picture of the bounty before cooking and eating it, as you can tell by the beat-y knifes there, which had already been chopping stuff up. I love Tuesdays!

Also, just a note to say that the posts here will be getting quite a bit more sparse for the next couple of weeks. We have company coming and several family commitments to attend to until the end of the month. When I get back up to speed I hope to have some posts about these letters I keep getting back from my elected representatives, as well as some more ponderings about water and soil, and eventually a little bit of Folk Fest Philosophy, when the time comes.

Be well everyone, and remember to slow down and enjoy the offerings of whatever season and climate you find yourself in!

July 2008 Challenge Update

It's nearly halfway through the month, and I thought I should post an update about how I'm doing with these two challenges. Especially after reading Chile's post about her blog-related peeves, which includes people who sign up for a challenge and then never post about it!

I have had more success with Heather's challenge than with Chile's challenge, I confess. I have mostly been able to sit down when I eat, although I do forget and out of habit will pop a carrot or cucumber slice into my mouth while making a salad for the guinea pigs, or dinner for us. I have also stopped myself a lot of the time though, put these morsels aside and then gone over to the couch and sat down to eat them more mindfully. Or at least stopped what I was doing and paid attention to what I was chewing.

Giving up eating mindlessly is what I'm doing for Chile's challenge. When I do stop, sit down and think about what I'm eating, I am glad. I deliberately think about the sun that has shone on my veggies, and the farmers and truck drivers and soil that have had a part in getting this food right here, right now, right in my mouth. My problem is that this thought process only lasts a few moments and then I'm back to being my scatter-brained self. But, it's a start.

Where I'm really making no progress at all is not eating in front of the computer or while reading a book. I seem to go into my 'do-what-I-wanna' trance state and just plop down and do it, even when the little voice in my head is saying, "hey, you're doing these challenges, remember?" I have yet to figure out why this is so hard for me. I guess 35+ years of doing things one way takes a while to unravel and change.

Time for a gatha, maybe? Here's one from the Everyday Yogini that seems to fit the bill perfectly!

When eating a sweet summer zuppa,
I vow with all Beings,
To savor each spoon of rich flavor,
Thanking rain, sun, and soil in turn.

CSA Bounty ! - Week Two

It was Tuesday evening and I was just getting back from an appointment after work, when it hit me: Tuesday is CSA pick-up day! AcK! I had completely forgotten. It was pretty late by then, way past the 4 hour pick-up window, and after calling the CSA farmers and leaving a message, I pretty much figured that was that. I re-read our introductory email from the CSA and was reminded that un-picked-up shares would be donated. I was glad my forgetfulness wouldn't lead to any waste, but irked at myself for forgetting something really important.

The next day, the CSA farmers reply to my email and say they've saved my share, and I can come and get it on Thursday. And once again I am thankful for the kindness and generosity of these people who are growing and harvesting and cleaning and keeping my food for me, until I can get my cluttered head emptied out of the things that don't matter, so there's room in there again for the things that do matter.

So yesterday I go to the farm after work and collect my share from the farm's harvest shed where it is patiently waiting for me. In the bag are a big bunch of chard and another one of kale, a large head of romaine lettuce, and another huge head of red leaf lettuce (I think). When I get home, I heat up my favorite frying pan and cook up all the chard the way I like it. When I feel the red lettuce I get a vision of "Dutch salad" from when I was little and I just have to make it. I call up my mom and get the recipe for this simple and delicious salad: red lettuce, oil, vinegar, and two boiled eggs - one to mix in the vinaigrette and one for garnish. A little ground pepper on top and with the first bite I am transported back to childhood. While talking to my mom on the phone she tells that I loved this salad so much when I was little that I even wanted to bring it to my elementary school when it was "bring food from your cultural heritage" day.

So it turns out my dinner had more than just almost all local ingredients yesterday: it also contained heaping helpings of generosity and nostalgia!

Tai Chi, a Tree and a Pickle Recipe....

Yesterday was a good day. I try to see goodness everyday, but there are days when you really have to look for it, and then days like yesterday, where gladness walks up and wags its tail at you like a puppy. All sorts of good things happened yesterday, but there were three things that happened all in a row within the span of an hour or so, that had me bursting with enthusiasm and gratitude.

The first two things happened at the Farmer's Market. More and more, this doesn't surprise me. Gord and I were wandering around the market before going to Tai Chi, and we ended up at the table for Shallow Creek Nurseries. I had popped by their table a couple weeks ago and noticed that they were selling some very hardy (Zone 2), yet sweet cherry tree varieties that we had learned about when we heard the Urban Farmer talk a few weeks before that. We ended up buying a Cupid Cherry tree, which already had cherries on it, which we will be able to harvest in about two more months! And this already-fruit producing tree cost us the grand sum of 22 bucks. As soon as Gord heard the price he zeroed in on the little tree, and bought some strawberries to boot!

The second thing happened up at the Lindbrook Farms table, where they sell delicious cucumbers. I gobble these things up like popcorn if I don't watch myself - I can eat 5-6 of their slicer cukes all at once. Back at the table, Gord is being his silly self asking absurd questions about cucumbers and pickles and how you make one into the other. Eventually the vendor lady finds out I don't have a clue about pickling and she says she has a very good recipe for first time picklers that she will happily share with me when they bring the pickling cukes out later in the season. I am taken aback at the generosity, and when we leave the table Gord and I agree that this sort of thing just wouldn't happen at the grocery store.

The third thing happened just a little while later, after I've eaten a cucumber, changed into my Tai Chi clothes and joined Gord and the rest of the members of my Tai Chi class. We are doing the warm ups as usual, and the instructor gives us a little extra instruction on one of them, called the Tor Yu. I have struggled with this exercise and it can bother my knees sometimes. Today for some reason the instructor's way of talking about and demonstrating the move tweaked some part in my brain and body, and I finally got it. I could do it! I could use my leg strength and not my knees! I could do it over and over again! This completely changed how I did the entire 108 move set, and I was a chatterbox about it for the rest of the class. Tai Chi is good for teaching me that repeated effort and practice, without apparent progress, can come to fruition any time. This gives me hope, and for more than just my Tai Chi.

Then, when we went back after class to pick up our tree and strawberries from the Shallow Creek lady, I mentioned I was thinking about building an arbor and trying to grow grapes in our yard one day, she offered to teach me which varieties to grow and how to prune them.

Things were coming to fruition (fruit-ion?) all over the place yesterday! It was a good day.

Picture of cherry courtesy this flikr site.

Saturday morning greens...

All of a sudden things are turning green around here! That fresh, light green of Spring. I went outside to take some pictures...

The lettuce and spinach in the whiskey barrels are coming along nicely:

The birch tree and its catkins:


The kale is still adorable!


The barley is up already!


New buds on the pincherry tree, along with a slightly out-of-focus ant:


Tiny leaves on the aspen poplar trees:


Time to go back outside and weed, right after I make a cup of tea to take out there with me, of course...

Happy Saturday to all!

Nice things on a Saturday morning...

...pansy sprouts in the sunshine....

...weather warm enough to open the windows...

...the sound of frogs in the pond at last...

...hot tea and warm cereal...

...time to appreciate these things....

Happy Saturday!

Book draw entry now closed....

Thanks to everyone who submitted their names for this draw! There were a few entries made shortly after the deadline, but I'm going to include them anyway, because time zones can be confusing! Plus, I'd rather be inclusive than exclusive any day. I also want to carry forward with the spirit of generosity of David Wann, who yesterday left a comment here kindly offering to replace for me the copy of his book that I'm giving away. Is that nice or what!

I will make the draw tonight, and then post the results tomorrow....

A bit more planting....

It was a gorgeous weekend here in the aspen parkland biome of Alberta. What a joy it was to go outside and dig in the dirt! Brown is still the predominant color in the landscape, but bits of green are poking through here and there. Under the straw I had put over the strawberries, a few green leaves were visible. I cleared away the wet straw and, after calling out to Gord that the strawberries had lived through the winter, covered them back up with some dry straw - we won't be frost-free at night for another month or so yet.

After that, I chose which seeds I would be planting in my half-whiskey barrel planters this year. I decided a while ago to plant edible or otherwise useful plants wherever I could this year, even in the planters usually used for annual decorative flowers. I will still plant some pansies here and there (they are edible after all, and inspirational too!) but this year I planted Rainbow Chard, Kale and Leaf Beets in the planters at the top of the driveway.

In two similar planters along the sides of the driveway, where there is more shade, I've planted a variety of lettuces. Well, in one of the planters anyway. When I was loosening the soil in the other planter I was getting run over by ants, who also loved the very warm Spring weather. I am a bit less freaked out by all the ants we have around here these days, but I still don't like them crawling on me in large numbers, say, 2 or more! I'll have to move that planter away from the ant hill.

I also tidied up the area where we had our little garden last year, taking the pallets off the 4X4 raised bed and just raking and sorting and such. I stirred up the compost, which has now thawed out enough to be stir-able, and found that I don't have a lot of ready compost in there this year. I will have buy some I guess.

A day outside, coupled with a nice family campfire the night before, made for a perfect weekend!

Kindness abounds

Just when I thought compassion would never be the new cool, I went to tai chi class.

As I was waiting for class to start, a classmate whose tea cup I had admired last week gave me a matching tea cup to use! We always have green tea and cookies at tai chi, but there were only styrofoam cups to use. Everyone would write their name on their cup to re-use during breaks and after class, but eventually the foam cup would be thrown in the garbage. I hadn't brought a tea-cup from home, because (I told myself) Chinese tea cups are small and I only have big tea cups. But this lady had brought a perfectly sized tea cup with a handle and I had said so to her just last week. So now I have been gifted with my own tai chi tea cup, and no longer have to use a styrofoam cup.

Then, in the middle of the class one of the instructors came up to me and asked if I had lost some winter boots, which I had. She said she knew where they were, and she went and got them for me! Someone in the school where we have tai chi sometimes had found them after our last class there about a month ago, and set them aside for the next time we had a class there. So now I don't have to worry about getting another set of boots!

I had had a discouraging day up until then, but these kindnesses really turned things around.

When I am discouraged
I vow with all Beings
to be grateful for kindness that abounds
just when it is needed


Picture courtesy this flickr website

The Spaces In Between II

Last Summer I wrote a post about the importance of creating space in our lives, and how slowing down can really enhance one's appreciation for every day activities, like having tea or washing dishes. I'm in the fortunate position of having this week off of work, and so I've really been able to slow down and enjoy the spaces in my life.

As you can see in the picture, the fact that there is still a couple feet of snow on the ground didn't stop me from taking my book and a cup of tea out to the front porch today. The sun was warm, and in my flannel PJs and fuzzy slippers I spent a nice half hour outside, reading, sipping tea, listening to the birds and breathing in the crisp air of early Spring.

After coming back in, I did a little paperwork, made a phone call to the CSA Farm to set up a time to visit them later this week, de-cluttered and dusted my office, watched our two guinea pigs' antics for a while, listened to some music, made supper and finally whipped up some of Chile's famous hot cocoa just before sitting down to blog.

All of these leisurely activities really bring home the many things I have to be grateful for, such as: a job with good benefits, a cozy home, farmers to grow food, the simple aesthetic of having just a few things on a shelf, the unconditional affection of companion animals, the warmth of the sun, the good taste of simple food, and the time to appreciate all of these.

In taking the time to be grateful, I realize how much of a luxury these spaces in between really are. My mind leaps ahead to imagining what could happen if more of us in the Western world saw affluence in these terms - saw it in the spaces in between things, instead of in the things themselves. If we valued the time, the space, more than the stuff, maybe this would balance out better for those in other parts of the world who need a little more stuff, like food, clean water, clothes, medicine and mosquito nets. The balancing out would occur because people who feel gratitude for what they have would be more likely to feel compassion for others. Then, in my imagination at least, they would act accordingly through, for example, charitable giving, volunteering, activism, community-building, or just being neighborly.

A fast pace of life seems to leave room only for consumption and convenience, with little space or time for gratitude or compassion. A slower pace lets us be thankful, appreciative, and giving.

Either that or I'm just rationalizing my half-hour tea time on the porch.

A blog award!

Wow! Alexah at Learning to Step Lightly has awarded me with the Excellent blogging award! It is really an honor to have this award passed on to me, especially considering the other bloggers that Alexah awarded as well.

When I started out blogging almost a year ago, I really never expected my words to be read by many other people. My motivation for starting to blog was two fold: First, my sister started a blog about her experiences as a first time mom, and really enjoyed it. Second, I had the perception that I was really starting to get on my friends' and family members' nerves with all my spouting off about sustainability, energy reduction, tai chi and the like and I wanted to have a place to pour out all my thoughts while giving the people in my life the choice to hear/read about them or not. And now it has turned into an activity that gives me an outlet for my rants, opinions, thoughts and ponderings, and has also led me into a community of people who are doing their best to live more in tune with all the myriad things. I learn something new every day, am inspired every day, and every day I get more practice at living within the means of the planet I share with all other beings. Knowing there are others out there pondering too, is more of a blessing than I ever imagined.

Per Alexah, the description of this award is as follows:

Now according to the information I was given - the person who started it all said:

“I love being a part of the blogging community and part of all the friendships that I’ve formed, so I wanted to give a blog award for all of you out there that have Excellent Blogs.”

Of course, there is a catch…

By accepting this Excellent blog award, I have to award it to at least ten more people whose blogs I find Excellent.

So, if you’re listed blow, please, consider yourself “Excellent” and thus worthy of this honor which I bestow upon you. And, if you have not yet visited these sites, I invite you to do so and experience some Excellent Blogging.

My list of blogs that I read daily or almost daily is evolving and expanding, but here are the ones that I go to most often at this point in time. I know the award says to list at least 10 other blogs, but I will stop at 10 because, well, I have to stop somewhere!

Nature Bats Last - an acerbic blog that tells it like it is - brace yourselves.

Chile Chews - without Chile I would not know to simmer the citrus seeds in with my marmalade! Plus, Chile writes prolifically - you know that there is going to be something new to 'chew' on almost every day. (No pressure though, Chile!)

A day in the life of Connor - my sister's blog - the blog that started it all for me. Lori's joy shows through in every post, and is a real pick-me-up when I need to turn my focus away from peak oil and assorted social and political frustrations.

Crunchy Chicken - she's been nominated for this award already, but it just doesn't get any better than Crunchy. She inspires like no other blogger I know!

Cluttercut - daharja writes with passion and her prose becomes near-poetry at times. Plus she has lots of great advice for getting the literal and figurative clutter out of life.

Everyday Yogini - a great blog about a mom in Italy practicing yogic ideals both on and off the mat. And she writes gathas too!

Simply Authentic - a grad student's blog all about living the sustainable lifestyle and thinking about deeply spiritual matters. Earnest, sincere, authentic - a lovely blog to read when I need a mental respite.

Casaubon's Book - this has been a life-changing blog for me. Sharon writes about critical environmental, socio-political, and ethical issues in a way that personalizes them and makes you want to change how you're doing things, right now.

The Importance of Being Sentient - this is a blog I came across recently by a well-spoken young adult. At times sarcastic and angsty, it strips things down to basics, which is very refreshing in a society where layers of crap are often heaped upon things, making them more complicated than they really need to be.

Hippie Girl - this is another fairly recent addition to my blog list. Another Canadian blogger, with lots of tasty vegan recipes and assorted neat tips, links and ideas.

Do enjoy these blogs - I sure do!

Repurposing for Winter

Today it is cold here. Very, very cold. We are in the middle of a cold snap the likes of which I don't think we've had since I was a 10 year old kid. As you can see by the picture of our thermometer there, it was so cold this morning that the thermometer gave up trying to measure the outside temperature! On my way to work my car thermometer said it was -45 C! This is just crazy cold! It was so cold that my clutch pedal was really unhappy when I asked it to help me change gears -- it would work in slow motion only. When I got into the city, where it was a balmy -38 C, both the clutch and I were a bit happier.

It is chilly at home too. We're trying not to turn the furnace up over 18 C and we have been keeping the woodstove going all day long, but it is still chilly. We have a lot of north facing windows in our house, which is nice in the summer but not as nice in the winter. When I walk down the stairwell to go to the woodstove in the basement, I can really feel the chill coming down off of them. The windows all have blinds on them, which can be closed to provide a bit of defense against losing all that heat out of the windows. There is a north-facing 'back door' as well though, which doesn't have any blinds on it. I've had visions of making a nice window quilt for it, but that hasn't happened yet. But in the spirit of Chile's repurposing challenge, I thought, why not try a window sheet?

So I wedged a spare sheet around the door trim and tucked it in at the bottom, and it makes quite a difference! Not as much as an thicker window quilt would, but it is definitely less drafty there now. This is just a temporary re-purposing, since I will still use the sheet as a sheet again, but it gets this job done too!

When it is this cold, I am reminded how lucky I am to be able to afford a warm and comfortable house to live in.