Hoo Hoo

We have an owl who hangs out around our house sometimes and we often have the lovely experience of listening to him hoo-hoo-ing at night. Tonight as we pulled into the drive after a quick dinner out, I spotted him for the first time, sitting atop a tree just beyond our yard. I know this isn't the best picture, but I feel compelled to share. Isn't he cool?

Review: Chooka Degrade Fade Rain Boots (The Saga Continues...)

If you are a devoted reader (or an obsessed stalker), you may recall my big decision last fall to splurge and order a pair of these adorable rain boots. Well, I am sad to report that after a few short months, they are already giving out on me. The outer layer has begun to crack in more than one place, which kinda undermines the main function of the boots - you know, the keeping your feet dry part???

Unfortunately, Amazon's craptastic return policy means that if I go to the trouble of packing them up and paying to ship them back, I may get a percentage of my price back but not the whole amount. Grr. So I guess I'm back to square one. I'll probably just go buy a cheap pair for $15 at the local feed store and they will last for ten years. Figures.

Ewwww.

One more reason to stick with natural foods...

Posted today on the Eco Child's Play blog:

“Grub” Is Literal: Bugs in Your Food

Written by Cate Nelson

The Food and Drug Administration never ceases to amaze me. “Bugs in your food? Sure! But don’t worry, we’ll have manufacturers label it now.”

After a decade of pushing by the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest, the FDA will finally require that manufacturers label that there are beetles in your favorite foods and cosmetics.

Here’s the controversy:

Carmine is a coloring made from the female cochineal beetle or her eggs. They dry ‘em and squish ‘em. It has been used for centuries as a coloring for fabrics, and it makes lovely shades of yellow or orange, and especially red, purple, and pink.

It’s also used as one of those “color added” ingredients in foods. Good & Plenty, Yoplait, Dannon, and even Ben & Jerry’s have used carmine for that perfect shade of deliciousness. And I’m sure that’s just the tip of the creepy crawly food coloring iceberg.

The problem is, some people are highly allergic to the cochineal, something that they don’t find out until they wind up in the ER with tight airways and red splotches. Yeah, I’m talking EpiPen allergies, here.

In 1998, the CSPI lobbied the FDA to ban the coloring outright after reports of those harsh reactions. They argued that not only would the extermination of carmine in food help those with allergies, but it would also be beneficial to those who have strictly regulated diets, such as Muslims, Jews, vegetarians, and vegans.

So far, the coloring has been hidden under the “color added” or “artificial coloring” blankets. The new rule will require that manufacturers clearly label products with “carmine” or “cochineal” so well-informed consumers such as yourself might avoid crushed bug juices. Delish!

But what the FDA has stated clearly that they will not do: ban carmine and cochineal entirely, require the [insect] origin of the coloring on labels, or undertake or require any scientific studies on the adverse reactions.

Buggy about critters in your food? Check those labels, as always, and avoid those with “carmine” and “cochineal” colorings.

Wow.

Seven Random Facts

Okay, okay, I'll play, but you may be sorry you asked. :-) I was tagged quite some time ago by Roni to play the 'Seven Random Facts' game, but I honestly couldn't think of anything random, weird, or interesting to say about myself. Now I've also been tagged by Contrariwise, so I will have to try really hard to come up with seven things worth saying about little old me. Part of the problem is that I've played this game before, plus another similar one, and I'm attempting not to repeat the same things about myself...

First, these are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here goes -

1. My first car was a 1952 Ford pickup. It was painted in blue primer. No power steering. The gas gauge didn't work (you just had to fill up every 200 miles). I loved it.

2. I started dating my now-husband around my 18th birthday. We were engaged within a year and married at age 20. When I consider these facts now, at age 32, I am somewhat amazed that our marriage has worked, but it has. Lucky us! :-)

3. This one should come as no surprise to anyone who follows my blog at all, but I dream of rescuing more and more animals throughout my lifetime. Right now we have two dogs, three rats, eight chickens, four ducks, and two turkeys, but I want more. Lots more. Someday I hope to be able to have a mini-sanctuary for more chickens, ducks, and turkeys, and when Carlos is older, I want to do foster care for dogs again (we used to do this years ago and I miss it). I look at adoptable dogs online all the time even though I know we can't take any right now.

4. Right now I'm sporting these two stickers on my rear car window:



The marriage equality sticker just recently replaced my 'Kucinich for President' sticker; I had a hard time letting that one go.

5. This one is embarrassing. In high school, I was a big Garth Brooks fan. One day during science class, my friend's mom came and got us both out of school because she found out that tickets were going on sale for a Garth Brooks concert in Sacramento, and you could show up that day to draw a number to determine your place in line to buy the tickets when they went on sale. We each drew a number and I was number one! On the day the tickets went on sale, there was a big long line of people waiting for the store to open so they could get their tickets, and I showed up at the last minute and sauntered up to the front of the line. I think the tickets we ended up with were about 15 rows from the stage. Swoon. Wow, I can't believe I just admitted all of that. (I'm working very hard to resist deleting this paragraph.)

6. Matt's nickname for me is 'Damara' - he said it one day hoping to annoy me but I liked it and it stuck; in fact, he now has it tattooed on his inner arm. Awwww.....

7. I have man-hands and truck feet. It's true. My hands are quite small but awfully manly, with fingers that manage to look sausagey even though they aren't that big/fat; my nails are always cut super short, and my fingertips are often stained with polishing compound and covered with callouses. Dry skin... the whole shebang. It's quite embarrassing actually. I moisturize a couple of times a day, and even bought a paraffin wax dip thingy recently, but they persist in looking and feeling manly. As for my feet, my best friend in junior high dubbed them 'truck feet' one day and the name stuck. Like my hands, they are quite small, but very flat (no arch) and kind of rectangular looking.

Yippee, that's me. Aren't you glad you asked? ;-)

Okay, I know I am supposed to tag seven people now, but I think the majority of the blog world has already played, so I'm just going to tag all of you who want to play but haven't yet. If you play, leave a comment here so I can go read yours too. :-)

Oh wait, I do want to tag one person specifically - my brother, since his blog is new and he hasn't had a chance to play before. I wonder if he'll participate?

Vote for Meeeeeee!

Hey! I got included in an Etsy Storque Contest for 'Best Sparkly Jewelry'! If you want to, you can vote for my Moissanite wedding ring. There are some other really amazing things included in the collection; it's an honor to have one of my pieces included. :-)

Stormy Skies

I have been waiting for a couple of days for a break in the weather so I could photograph some new beads and jewelry (to be posted soon) - it's been so dark and dreary outside, which makes photography tough. Anyways, I finally saw a bit of sun peeking through the clouds today, so I was able to take my pictures. I froze my butt off out there - we're having a major cold spell here, at least by California standards - and by the time I was finished with my pictures, the sky was looking more and more ominous...


And within a few minutes of finishing my photo shoot, it began to hail. HARD. Carlos had fun watching the ice come down.


The chickens and turkeys were all huddled up against our front door under the porch overhang, but the ducks didn't seem bothered at all - in fact, they had a nice little swim.


The chickens enjoyed eating the little bits of hail after the downpour ended.

My running buddy

More often than not, when I go running* at the local community college track, there are two deer there to keep me company. One is a little bigger than the other so I'm guessing maybe they are a mama and her baby from last year. They munch on grass and eye me warily each time I go by, but they don't seem to be overly afraid. It's nice to have company while I exercise, and neat to see these gorgeous animals at fairly close range. Yesterday I finally remembered to bring my phone so I could take a picture. This is the littler one - isn't she the cutest?


* 'Running' seems like an inaccurate description of my actual performance - truth be told, it's more like a very, very, very slow jog. :-)

Fear Not, Gentle Reader...

...I have not forsaken ye. We had fun at Farm Sanctuary on Saturday, but the trip ended in a black cloud of despair and sadness when we hit and killed a deer on the way home. I've been in kind of a funk these past two days. Anyhoo, I will try to get caught up on my Thanksgiving countdown tomorrow, and hopefully post my Farm Sanctuary pics then too.

Wah.

Don't you hate it when you find exactly what you want but it's out of your price range?

My heart's desire - Chooka Degrade Fade Vibrant Pink Raspberry Rain Boots

Update, 10/24/08 - I totally just ordered these with my birthday money. Thanks, Mom! :-)

Boots!

We have been feeling pretty poor lately (who hasn't?), so I've been trying not to spend money on anything non-necessary, but I think I need some new rain boots, and these are so inexpensive, I think I can justify it. :-) But which should I buy???

Basic black - simple, goes with everything.

Should I channel my inner girly-girl?

Or get crazy with a wedge heel and polka dots?

Help!

Field Trip Day!!!

Today was Carlos' first field trip! I went with him, and we lucked out having Calvyn in town as well - the three of us had a blast picking out lots and lots of pumpkins. I had to have one of every color!

Pumpkin explosion!

The finished pieces - mine on the left, Calvyn's on the right, and Carlos' front and center.

Rock on, pumpkin dudes!

Toasted pumpkin seeds
(Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray, toast at 325 degrees until done (maybe 25-30 minutes?), stirring once or twice during baking time.)

WARNING: Very Long Post!

Well, we made it back today from our very busy trip. We were gone for almost a week - Carlos and I spent a couple of days in San Francisco before Matt joined us. We stayed in the bay area for a bit longer with Matt before we all continued on to Farm Sanctuary in Orland. This had to be the highlight of the trip for me; I've been wanting to visit the sanctuary for ages.

Fortunately, we recovered from the loss of our camera in time to be up and running with the new one during our Farm Sanctuary visit. Here's the part where I share lots and lots of pictures :-)

When we arrived, we checked in at the People Barn -

Carlos was happy to be there.

The scenery was very pretty.

Before we knew it, we were meeting all kinds of incredible animals.

I didn't catch this guy's name, but he's amazing, isn't he?

And here he is again with Bonnie and Waylon.

This is Lester (the same one show with Carlos above).

Next it was on to the pigs.

Our guide told us that happy pigs spend about 80% of their time sleeping. I thought it was cute how these two were spooning.

We got to pet the goats for just a few minutes before their lunch arrived; after that all we got was this rear view as they sped off to chow down.

Of course, you will probably not be surprised to hear that my favorite animals to spend time with were the turkeys, especially since two girls from this flock will soon be coming to live at our house!

I think I caught this girl in mid-song. They make the most wonderful noises!

This was one of only two male turkeys we met. He was quite friendly, and very handsome.

This sweet old girl was so friendly. She was the only one to approach me when I sat down on the ground, and she happily accepted chest and tummy scratches for quite a long time.

I love the look on the face of the turkey in the back. Doesn't she look like she knows exactly how fabulous she is?

I loved this one's head!

{sigh} I loved the turkeys. I wish I knew which ones we get to adopt, but whoever it ends up being, I'm sure we will love them to pieces. They should be arriving around the beginning of November, so you'll definitely be hearing more about that in a while.

The timing of our visit was great because Farm Sanctuary was my charity of the month for September - it was fun to be able to deliver my donation in person for once, and it was especially exciting because we did so well last month. With your help, I raised a whopping $570.00 in support of the awesome work Farm Sanctuary does on behalf of animals.

On to the rest of our trip... I suppose the other big news was that Carlos seems to finally be showing some serious interest in underpants. Hooray! He picked some out while we were on our trip, and he had fun entertaining us in the car with them.

First he just laid this pair on his head and asked me to take his picture. When he got a reaction from that, it was game on... let the underpants festivities commence.

With cousin Calvyn.

Carlos' version of a ski-mask burglar look.

Underpants everywhere!

(We got home around 3:00 p.m. today and Carlos was really excited to put on underpants for the first time. He wore them until bedtime with no accidents, so I think he's on his way to finally being potty trained. We'll see how it goes.)

The final leg of our trip took us to Redding for one night. This morning before heading home, we decided to check out Turtle Bay. We didn't know much about it beforehand, and for the most part it was pretty cool, but I was disappointed when I realized that they had so many captive live animals. It wasn't the main focus of the place, but they were here and there, and it was just so sad to see these gorgeous creatures (a fox, several owls, some kind of eagle or falcon...) in cages. For that reason, I wouldn't go back. But we made the most of it; there was a really nice playground for Carlos to enjoy, and a museum and some trails to explore. Here's Carlos on the way out the door -

Well, I'm exhausted and badly in need of some sleep so that's it for now. I'll have to write a bit more tomorrow and clue you all in about October's charity and maybe a few other things.

What is the deal with Herbivore? and other ramblings

To those of you who live in or visit the San Francisco bay area, I ask you - What is up with Herbivore? I have been there several times over the past couple of years, and I always start with great expectations, and I am generally disappointed. I don't want to be disappointed - I want to like it! But everything I've eaten there is just kind of blah. So tell me - (a) do you like it? and (b) if so, what do you usually order?

I guess I should back up. I've been in San Francisco the last couple of days visiting my brother and my nephew. I wish I could say I have photos to share, but my camera got left in a restaurant and by the time we realized it and went back a couple of hours later, it was long gone. I hope the person who stole it is having fun with it. I bought a new one today at Target* and lo and behold, the idiot salesperson sold me an incompatible memory card. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaorrrrrrrrrrlll.

* I despise Target.

Anyway, back to Herbivore - we went there for dinner the first night I was in town and my mom and I shared some cold spring rolls and a papaya salad. All I can say is - blah. No flavor to speak of; just blandity-bland. It was so nice of my family to seek out a vegetarian restaurant for me, and then I felt kind of ashamed of the whole vegan population when the food was so unexciting. I know we can do SO much better!

I suppose I could also regale you with tales of The Runniest Poop Ever, the feces explosion later that same night that escaped Carlos' diaper in more directions than I would have thought possible, and ended up badly soiling the carpet in the back of my car, where I stupidly tried to change him without a pad underneath. Said carpet soilage necessitated the purchase of one of those little carpet-scrubby-pod thingies at Target as well today, and I will end my post on a positive note by reporting that it worked fabulously and my car seems to now be free of its former craptastic odor.

But really, I'm having a fun trip! Really.

Latest Political News...

I'm not sure which is most disturbing -

Her inexperience?

• Ms. Palin has spent barely 20 months in office in a state that has rarely played much of a role in national politics.
• Before becoming Alaska’s first female governor, the top line on her political résumé was her tenure as mayor of Wasilla, a suburb of Anchorage with fewer than 7,000 residents.

Her positions on the issues?

• Ms. Palin is a conservative Protestant and is a member of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion group.
• She has supported the teaching of intelligent design in public schools, alongside evolution.
• She is a member of the National Rifle Association, and has said Alaska’s economic future depends on aggressively extracting its vast natural resources, from oil to natural gas and minerals.
• She said she supported Alaska’s decision to amend its Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Or her tastelessly cruel decorating sense?

Look at her snuggled up to the carcass of that once-beautiful creature. So sad.

Full article at NY Times website.

Inspiration

This is awesome. Go read it. Then go live it. :-) I'm gonna try...

Ooh, the cool kids like me!

I feel like I just got accepted into some kind of popular clique... I'm on Trunkt! I have applied a few times in the past and been rejected, but yesterday I re-applied using my new moissanite and recycled metal designs, and they let me in. Yay! Now I have to figure out how to get my portfolio all tricked out... anyone who is a current member, feel free to advise me. :-)

Ouch.

Okay, so I am not one of those people who notices and remembers prices on every item in the grocery store. I don't clip coupons. I don't drive all the way across town to save five cents a pound on potatoes or whatever. However, even I have noticed the incredible spike in food prices lately. Today I spent ELEVEN DOLLARS on four organic red bell peppers, and my two five-pound bags of flour (one white, one white whole wheat) were around eight bucks each! If I remember correctly, just a few short months ago, they were about half that much. And the flour wasn't even organic, although it was purchased at one of our local natural food stores, which I'm sure is more expensive than the regular grocery store. Yowza!

What are you all doing to cope with this? I know for me, it's strengthening my resolve to put in a much larger vegetable garden next year. Beyond that, I'm at a loss...

I love free stuff.

Matt and I have been wanting to get an outdoor loveseat/rocking chair-type thing for a while since we spend a lot of time sitting outside watching the chickens lately, but the desire hadn't been strong enough to plunk down the cash for one yet. That turned out to be a good thing because Matt scored this one for free last week! Well, just the frame, which he painted and attached wood slats to. Some cushions from Target (alas, not free) completed the look and now the three of us can rock to our hearts' content while chicken- and duck- watching. :-)

Inspiration

As I've mentioned before, and I'm sure many of you can relate, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the problems of the world, and frustrated by what often feels like the tiny drop in the bucket that my efforts contribute in the grand scheme of things. I ran across this lovely post today on the No Impact Man blog and wanted to share it with you. I think it's very uplifting and a good reminder to all of us who work to better the lives of others, whether humans, animals, the planet, etc.

When it comes to saving the world, just try, try, try

By Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man

There is a story I love, one of those stories that bolsters me up. It's about the Korean monk who founded the school of Zen where I meditate (the Kwan Um School of Zen).

Dae Soen Sa Nim, as his students called him, decided that world peace would come if all the religious leaders of the world got together and had a good, human conversation.

The way to do that, Dae Soen Sa Nim believed, was to get all the world’s religious leaders to have a hot tub together.

In order to get all the religious leaders into the same hot tub, Dae Soen Sa Nim thought it was important that the invitation came from the most senior religious leader in the world--the Pope. He wanted the Pope to send out a letter that said, essentially, “Dear Fellow Religious Leader, How about we get a hot tub and figure out how to get world peace?”

So without invitation, Dae Soen Sa Nim got on a plane, flew to Italy, marched up to the gates of the Vatican and asked to see the Pope. No, he told the guard, he did not have an appointment. The guard sent Dae Soen Sa Nim to see one of the priests. A day or two later, the priest sent him to see a bishop. A couple of days after that the bishop got him an appointment to see a cardinal.

As the story goes, the cardinal in question did not see the value in Dae Soen Sa Nim’s approach. The Pope, presumably, was too busy with other, non-hot-tub-oriented approaches to world peace. There, the effort died.

But why this story gets told again and again in the Zen school is because of the sheer “just try, try, try, for ten thousand years only try” energy of Dae Soen Sa Nim’s approach. He started from where he was and just did the best he could, given the particular person he was. He had an idea that he thought might help, and instead of questioning himself, he trusted himself. He tried.

This story suggests that, instead of sitting around figuring out the best way to save the world, we should just start saving the world. It's too late for more think tanks. We need do tanks. Thirsty people need water. Hungry people need food. It's not any more complicated unless we make it so.

You may say, wait, this is a story with no pay off. The kooky guy tried and it didn't work. Except that's not the reason the world has not been saved. The reason the world has not been saved is because not enough other people have yet joined in with their own kooky attempts. Not enough other people have yet vowed to "just try, try, try, for ten thousand years only try."

So just try. It might not be your effort that gets the Pope in the hot tub or saves the world. It may not be mine. But if we all just start trying from where we are, one of us, or a couple of thousand of us, will soon cross the finish line and get the job done.