My Experiment: End Of Week One

Well things are going pretty smoothly, despite a few glitches here and there. (The grapes thing really threw me!) Now I feel I've got a better handle on things. But it really is amazing where our food comes from. The 'object' part is easy, I live at a flea market, and I'm taking a trip to Goodwill this Saturday to both offload AND pick up.

The food thing, however.......*shudder*

I live right up the road from a health food shop, a farmer's market AND a local gormet shop....and I STILL can't believe where food comes from!!!

I was at the health food grocery (NOT the 'big one') and picked up a jar of "Genovese Italian Pesto". Now you would THINK this was imported from Italy. Still not really on my list for food, but a pretty honest guess.

Israel.

Not kidding.

Floored me.

SO...off I go to the LOCAL farmer's market. I got som eggs from right up the street and not too pricy, some local goat cheese and a head of garlic from their farm. Then I asked THE question...

"So the grapes over there....where are they from?"

"Ya know, I'm not sure, lemme ask."

"Cool, thanks."

"______, where are our grapes from?"

"Hmmm, not sure. Someplace in South America."

.........................................
..........................really?..............

.......................................
.........really...........huh. Ok then.

SO.......the gist here is that, unless the 'BIG ONE' has grapes from at LEAST California....I get no grapes for a year. What that also means is, I have to really check where my jelly is coming from too.

This shit trickles down ya know.

Man......Ok, so no grapes. No big deal, really.......

But in the scheme of things ladies and gents, I would like you all to try a little experiment of your own. Walk through the produce of your LOCAL market, be it Farmer's or otherwise, and check the labels. How much FOOD do we actually grow here?

I understand the seasonal thing, I get that. But there are actually LOADS of fruits and veggies that are in season NOW. Why is my lettuce coming from South America?? I LIVE IN THE GARDEN STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-ahem-

Sorry. But this experiment is really opening my eyes in a way that no politician or documentary could. By living this way I have allowed the changes this country has undergone in the past few decades to really hit home.

Small farmers wiped out by factory farms with mutilated chickens and tortured cattle always seemed a horrible thing that I should be really upset about.

NOW it strikes me as a serious deterioration of this country's ability to sustain itself. Everyone is so worried about our ability to 'stand on our own' in the oil race.....

but we'll DIE without food.

And the stuff we're putting into our bodies looks less and less like food every year.

I fear the age of the nutrient pill!!

So to sum up.....

This year I see how well I can do this thing. I'll take notes and post all my steps here.....next year, I'm going to see If I can get anyone else to join me.

Cause this is really a bigger job than I can handle! LOL!

A good, eye opening first week......

I hope I don't end up a radical fruitcake.

Awww crap.

An Experiment in Responsibility

I'm a bit late in posting this, but those of you that know me, also know I'm late for everything! So since I plan on starting this experiment TOMORROW, I suppose I should post now.

This is going to be a rough one for little consumer me, but I feel I need to at least give it a shot...

As of April first I am beginning a year long experiment in planetary responsibility. I would LOVE to have an organic garden, but I've little space for more than the few veg and herbs I already grow. I would LOVE to move off the grid into an earthship home or at least an eco built home...but alas I suffer from rentersitis. SO many things out there I would love to do for a healthier planet and self....but this will have to suffice. (Along with biking everywhere I can of course!)

What I mean by planetary responsibility is this. I wish to remove myself from the consumer stream as much as is phisically possible. For one whole year, I will purchase nothing new that is not handmade / crafted etc. save for toiletries and underwear. (A girl's gotta have some wiggle room!)

THIS MEANS: if I find myself in need of a 'new' baking dish I will only purchase one from e-bay or the flea market OR a handmade stoneware piece bought DIRECTLY from the maker.

SADLY, as far as my friends and family are concerned, this means any gifts are likely to be handmade pieces. No electronics etc. unless I can trade for them.

To that end I have set up an AWESOME barter page on facebook called Bizarre Barters and Troubling Trades. I had no idea it would grow so quickly, but we already have over 250 members!!!

All kinds of items and services being offered as well! Soaps, baked goods, tarot readings, handmade jewelry, hand knit items, ren and steampunk garb, leather goods, repairs, musicians, performers....it's actually pretty unreal! So between that, etsy for handmade goods and e-bay and the market for recycled and repurposed goods I think I can do this.

At the same time, I plan on cutting down on both the foods I eat from other countries and the amount of packaging I consider acceptable. Buying grains and cereals in bulk is something I have always done, but I hope to expand this to other bulk items.

And eating locally will be easy for the next several months as all the farmers' markets re-open for the season. After November I am SURE this will become more difficult.

SO....the plan is to add to this blog at LEAST once a week as my experiment progresses to make note of all the ups and downs for my own future reference and to entertain anyone else who may pop in.

I'm certain this will be fascinating to watch! LOL!

The first step is to retreive KA (my bike) from storage at my in-law's and set about giving her her yearly tun up MYSELF. Wish me luck!

For now....off to weed my pots in preperation for the upcoming spring growth spurts. My artimesia is already popping!

Back next week!

Gypsy

Regrets....I've had a few....

So....I'm back. Unemployed and trying to figure out a way to make a living doing what I really love.

Many many moons ago, I did FX makeup. That was a kickass job...but I ran into one obstacle after another. No car, (or license) no studio, moved to NOWHERE, and eventually...this was the kicker, ran out of steam.

Not a ton of work out there for a female zombie freak with delusions of death and carnage. 2 apprenticeships handed over to men later, and I pretty much bailed. THIS is a huge regret.

In no other aspect of my life have I EVER taken that kind of crap. I was convinced that the field was closed to women and instead of calling bullshit and plowing on ahead....I folded like oragami.

sigh

My creativity was what saved me every time I 'fell' and I couldn't even muster the cajones to be true to it.

BIG regret.

So here I am, forty-something and broke. Pimping my art and creativity to anyone who will deign to buy it.

Selling art of any kind during a 'recession' is NOT recommended my friends.

Selling art that deals mostly in zombies, cyber-surgeons, wasteland scavengers....well let's just say I'm hunting retail work in the spring.

You have to be famous to sell people nightmares.

I'm not famous.

Spring Is Eating My Brain....and I'm Sorry...

Just a REALLY quick post to explain my blogging absence....
There are 2 things that have me sort of "Out To Lunch" as far as posting recently.

1) I have become increasingly disillusioned with Etsy and am thinking of simply getting my own site with shopping cart and all. This is taking up a ton of my online time with research and the like. A domain can be expensive, and I need to tighten up, but Etsy is just not doing it. Too many people, too much politics.

2) It's spring here, ish, and for those of you that know me, you know it's garden time. As my garden actually consists of pots on the porch, it can be both more and less work than a yard garden. (Fewer critters and weeds, more watering and trimming.) As a side note, the blueberries, raspberries and daylilies all came back, and I got (deep breath) peas, chili peppers, tomatoes, sage, garlic, basil, rosemary, lemon thyme, strawberries, peppermint and 4 (or 5) varieties of lettuce all potted and ready to feed us!!! Next up are corn, carrots, bell peppers, possibly pumpkins, pickles and brussles sprouts (if the cabbage worms don't come for the lettuce this year). I have no high hopes for our grapes tho....they may be goners.

SO...the crux of this little note is thus....I WILL still be posting my favourite things once in a while, and when I have the time to 'interview' people I'll still be doing the favourite people posts. But neither of these will be on a monthly schedule. Not for a few months anyway. We'll see what deep summer brings this year. But I plan on a lot of otside time this summer, so bear with me.