Thinking Out Loud - HVC Blog

Computer system up and running again!

This weekend I am visiting my family in New Jersey.

I grew up here and my visits always put me in a relective state of mind.

The night air is warm and I am listening to 10,000 cicadas and crickets make a rucus.

Two friends emailed me links yesterday. Both with similar messages and with similar themes.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

1. My friend Dorothy sent me this link of a great video from this year's Farm Aid.

2. And, my friend Barbara sent me a link to this article about Monsanto at www.takepart.com.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The health of the world we live in is top of mind for a LOT of people.

It can be so overwhelming and feel so hopeless at times. However I think there is a great message in the Farm Aid video; everybody can do something and it is all helpful.

In my life I have found that taking big, huge life-altering steps never works long for me. I find small changes, tiny things build up overtime. After a while those little changes build up and seems like a huge lifestyle shift.

For example, years ago I stopped purchasing shampoo. I still wash my hair. I just do not use shampoo. I just use the soap I use for the rest of my body. In the process I have probably have not purchased 50-ish plastic bottles. It is better for the environment and saved me money in the process. It is a tiny little change. A change SO small I kind of forget that it is even a change. It is just something I do. It sounds all fancy but it really is not. It is just a small change that was doable for me.

I have made a few changes like this over the years. The changes build up and suddenly from the outside it might look like I am "doing stuff". But it doesn't feel that way. It just feels like "things I do".

I think we all fall into this trap. It may be about environmental things. Or food/diet things. Or exercise. Or whatever. A great many of us get fall into thinking that to being "doing something" we must do it 100%, with no contradictions, and with no mistakes. This all or nothing attitude destroys resolve and give us a reason to beat ourselves up.

A little change done 30% of the time is super, incredibly useful.

• If you want to eat healthier
• If you want to write everyday
• If you want to exercise 3 times a week
• if you want to buy more local products
• If you want drive less
• If you want to use less shampoo!

Doing any of these 30%, 15%, or 5% more will make a difference.

It will become part of your life.

It will build up.

It will lead to other changes.

It does make a difference.

Courtney has been working all year with Sundari Kraft of Heirloom Gardens here in Denver. Courtney has been constantly impressed with Sundari's knowledge of gardening and farming within the city limits.

Sundari just authored a new book titled, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading.

Urban Homesteading is a growing movement of people looking to be more independent, more resourceful, and more connected to nature while living in urban or suburban environments.

"Urban Homesteaders look around and see possibilities everywhere. Where there is dirt (and even where there isn't) we can grow food. We can decide on a chicken coop instead of a birdbath or fill a compost pile instead of a trash can. We can conserve and reuse our resources, and we can find new ways to acquire the energy and water we use to get through the day." - Introduction to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading

The book includes a huge range of topics including:

• gardening (privately or community)
• raising rabbits, chickens, or goats
• preserving food and water
• composting
• decreasing power consumption
• commuting
• cleaning recipes

One of the most impressive aspects of this work is that Sundari not only explains the "how-to" aspects but the legal and regulatory issues as well. It truly is a compete guide to these topics.

You can pick the book up anywhere but we recommend going to eatwhereulive.com or your local bookstore.

1. Creatures and Ives

An hommage to monsters and lithography

#2. The Monkeys You Ordered

Literal descriptions of New Yorker Cartoons

(Sometimes Strong Language)

"Your problem is that you’re in three pieces."

3. The work of Heng Swee Lim

"I'm Like a Bird."