2:15 pm
Closeness
“To mature is in part to realize that while complete intimacy and omniscience and power cannot be had, self-transcendence, growth, and closeness to others are nevertheless within one’s reach.”
- - Sissela Bok
6:00 am
Lady Fern
“And we who listen to the stars, or walk the dusty grade
Or break the very atoms down to see how they are made,
Or study cells, or living things, seek truth with open hand.
The profoundest act of worship is to try to understand.”– “The Word of God” by Catherine Faber
6:00 am
Faery Stone
Just a simple glass stone, blessed by me with strength and healing, I have them in all my houseplant pots. Just maybe they will give my plants a little extra juju to get through another Winter. (Especially this Indian rubber tree, he is not fond of the cold.)
11:08 pm
Cloth Diapers
Michael and I have been cloth diapering Damian pretty much since he was born. There are so many advantages to cloth diapering but our original reason for looking into it was cost, beyond that they are the more eco-conscious choice and healthier for the baby.
There are a lot of cloth diapers available on the market today, some make cloth diapers almost as easy as using disposables (all-in-ones.) There is almost a whole subculture out there that revolves around cloth diapers (there is even one type, called GoodMamas that can go for $100+ a piece on ebay. Organic bamboo mumbojumbo…)
If money wasn’t an option I would probably have some all-in-ones for when we are out, but since our original goal was to save money we use prefolds, the “classic” cloth diaper that seems to intimidate so many people. I am really pleased with them though, after you change two or three of them it is super easy. We bought our current diapers from softclothbunz.com and our order was just shy of $200. For that we got:
- 36 prefolds
- 36 washcloths (to use as wipes)
- 4 diaper covers
- 3 snappis (that blue thing holding Damian’s prefold on)
- Biodegradable liner sheets
- 2 large waterproof bags (for the diaper pail)
- 1 small waterproof bag (for the diaper bag)
This gives us enough diapers that we can go a day or two without doing laundry, since I am a stay-at-home mom, doing laundry isn’t really an issue for us. I do it every day as is. Of all the items listed the liners are our splurge and convenience item. Liners are a rectangular sheet that looks and feels a bit like a drier sheet that are placed in the prefold. If the diaper is just peed in they can get tossed in the laundry with the diapers several times before they start to break down (since they are biodegradable.) If the diaper gets pooed in, the liner can be flushed poo and all. They are really convenient for when we are out and I don’t want to rinse the prefold in a public restroom.
$200 might seem like a lot of money but it is quickly made back when you consider a 34-pack of Huggies disposables cost about $16. Michael and I can use 20 diapers in 24 hours that is 140 diapers a week. That is $65 a week! We make back our $200 investment in just over 3 weeks. In a few months we will have to get the next size up of prefolds but it will still end up being way cheaper then disposables. We can also use these diapers on our next kid of course. We alsoEC Damian so that is even more money saved for us.
Cloth diapers are also healthier for the baby. Very few people I know who use them have problems with diaper rash since there are no chemicals in them. Cases of diaper rash are normally solved by changing laundry detergent. Disposables on the other hand usually can contain:
- Sodium Polyacrylate: a chemical that has been linked to allergic reactions and toxic shock syndrome.
- Bleach: one of the byproducts of the bleaching process is a cancer-causing (according to the EPA) chemical called dioxin. Even in the smallest detectable quantities, dioxin can cause liver disease, immune system suppression, and genetic damage in lab animals.
- Not to mention all the reports the FDA has received that show the fragrances in disposables caused headaches, dizziness,rashes, chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors. As well as Consumer Protection Agency reports of babies pulling disposables apart and putting pieces of plastic into their noses and mouth and choking on tab papers and linings.
Beyond being cost effective, cloth diapers are ecofriendly, even when factoring the water used to wash them. Cloth diapers are reusable and are usually biodegradable. Compare that to the 18 billion disposable diapers America throws out every year. The outer later of disposable diapers is usually a waterproof polypropylene and the inner layer is usually made of wood pulp and sodium polyacrylate. Once at the dump, disposable diapers will not breakdown for several hundred years, not to mention that they are filled with human excrement that can potentially leach into the water supply.
So cost effective, healthier for baby and ecofriendly are a few of the reasons we use cloth diapers. I really hope more parents in my generation choose cloth, even if for no other reason then saving money - which is a big perk in our current economy! Anyhow, my little rambling here might not convince you but I hope it makes you think and leads you to do some research of your own.
3:53 pm
The moment of truth…
I feel like I have been either cleaning or in the kitchen all day, and you know what? It feels really good (I think I need a foot rub though…) I feel like I haven’t had time to keep my house in order for weeks. I got a chance to try out the baking soda and vinegar cleaners some of you recommended to me awhile back and wow, they work really well.
Tomorrow Michael and I are going to a Beltane gathering in Medical Lake. It is a potluck so I made my potato salad and a whole wheat applesauce cake. The cake started life as a slightly more elaborate recipe which I have been simplifying over time, today I made the final jump from changing the brown sugar to honey. Now it only contains whole wheat flour, applesauce, honey, baking soda and cinnamon. Except for the cinnamon and probably the baking soda, it is a completely local cake. I canned the applesauce last Autumn (this was my last jar too!). I grind the wheat myself and it comes from this area. The honey I used is from a local apiary (I picked it up in Yokes though.)
I don’t know how many of you modify recipes but if you do, you know that moment of apprehension you have before trying a heavily modified recipe? I just experienced that before typing this entry with that cake. I was pleasantly surprised, the local honey has a really wonderful flavor. I love it, though I must admit I have an urge to cover it in cream cheese frosting. I’d post a picture for you but I seem to have misplaced my upload cable. (They should make wireless cameras for people like me…)
I love the challenge of cooking as locally as possible. I like supporting the local growers and in general I find the local crops to be much more flavorful. We have two farmers’ markets within a 20 minute bus ride of our home and I am really looking forward to them opening (one opens May 10th and the other June 5th.)
Anyhow, now to go chop the potatoes for the salad. Getting local potatoes in never a problem here as Idaho is virtually next door…
6:30 pm
Earth Day
Michael works for a produce company and sometimes they get plants in for restaurants and have some
Today the Bank of America building in downtown Spokane shut off their power from 12:00 to 13:00, and people were invited down to the lobby for free coffee and tea as well as free compact fluorescent light bulbs*. The Spokane mayor, Mary Verner, spoke briefly to the people gathered about how our city is working towards a being more green and that all our little changes could make a big impact. It was a typical inspirational political speech, but I was still happy to hear it. We need more politicians who care.
So many people do eco-conscious things on Earth Day, which I think is really fantastic, but it is important to carry those goals throughout the year. I feel I lead a pretty “green” lifestyle. Change does not happen instantly or particularly naturally to me but as long as I keep moving towards it, one small step at a time, I know that I will reach my goals.
*Just a note about CFLs that most people do not know, they do contain mercury so you shouldn’t toss them in the trash. Once they die you can return them to where they were purchased, (the store will recycle them correctly) or you can take them to a recycling facility.
3:51 am
Earth Hour
Don’t forget about Earth Hour tonight, it starts at 8pm!
Michael brought up a point the other day which I want to expand on, how much better would it really be if we burned candles instead of turning on an energy saving bulb?
Well, to start you have a better chance of your electricity coming from renewable energy source then your candles as most people burn paraffin candles, which is a direct byproduct of crude oil. So we are in fact supporting foreign oil but burning them, ironic during Earth Hour. So the choice is obvious burn soy, palm or beeswax right?
Well… Everything that burns puts off soot, which is a pollutant. That means everything from the fire in your fireplace to your candles - even your soy candles, often touted at “soot free”/”smoke free” releases it. I realize saying this may adversely affect my business as I am a candle maker, but it is simply the truth. It annoys me when people say their soy candles, made exactly the same way as I make mine, are soot free. It is a lie, though it is true that a properly made soy candle will release less soot then paraffin. At least when we burn soy, beeswax or palm wax candles though, we are using a renewable resources…
So the question stands are we really helping up turning off the tv, the computer and the lights and lighting a few candles?
I still believe we are, most people (I hope!) stay in the room with their candles, whereas they might leave every light in the house on otherwise and people tend not to light so many candles as to make the room as bright as with electricity.
Also, everyone taking the time to celebrate Earth Hour is celebrating togetherness. In my opinion, we will never grow the movement for energy independence or spread the message of climate change without group effort, so it sends a powerful message when so many people come together under a single cause, like during Earth Hour. Even if it only affects a handful of people to look at their energy usage and invest in ways to reduce it, better the few than the none.
So yes, I think Earth Hour still has its purpose and I will still be celebrating it.
I hope you will too.
(And I do encourage you to burn soy candles as they are a renewable resource.)
1:46 pm
Microwave
Well it is almost clean…
Do you have that one area in your home (maybe even a couple areas) that you just do not like to clean? It is normally tucked away and easily ignorable until one day you realize it may indeed be a health hazard? You know, like the upstairs toilet that has more rings than you? Not that we talk about that…
I have such a place and I won’t be telling you how long it has been since it was last cleaned, as that is quite incriminating. Nor will I be showing photos, once again, quite incriminating, but that place for me is the microwave. Oh, I keep it looking nice on the outside, but inside, well, those who develop weapons of mass destruction might indeed be impressed.
We do not own one of those microwave cover things and we are bad at covering stuff that we nuke so the splatter has built up. I rarely use the microwave (I use the toaster oven more and I keep that as it has a clear glass front…) so it is easy for me to ignore, that is, until I heated up my milk for cocoa today. I covered my mug, not because of I afraid of overflow, but rather I was afraid of what might get in it. Which is pretty darn gross when you think about it.
Thus the microwave must now be faced, that or I should start eating raw food.
The problem is a lot of the food is pretty stuck on and doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere so, does anyone have any tricks for getting stuck off food out of the inside of the microwave? Preferably a method that does not involve any harsh chemicals?
I fear if I do not clean the microwave soon it may develop sentience and murder me in my sleep. Kind of like Michael’s fridge did when I first moved in with him. (I barely survived that battle…)
