A passion shared

Creating Optimal Health

2012-01-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

What would our lives be like if we had optimal health?

What that looks like for each of us is different. For me it is being in a body that strong enough to climb a mountain, healthy enough to stay well year-around and flexible enough to have no problem getting to the back corner of the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

The research that I’ve done over the fall and winter on optimal health and wellness leads me to believe that it is possible to live in a body that is vibrant, strong, flexible and disease-free; to inhabit it with great joy, a sense of purpose and caring for self and others. And to have this body exist in an environment that is nurturing, enlivening and supportive. I am ready for that.

How to create health is no longer a mystery. The answers are available and easy to implement. So why not go there?

Why not create Optimal Health?

Deepak Chopra says that our bodies are a process not a structure. He says that, at the atomic level, our bodies are changing all the time and, after a year, our body has completely regenerated itself. Our stomachs recycle every five days, our skin replaces itself once a month, and our skeletons renew themselves once every three months. Yes, our entire skeletons. Fascinating! Here is a link to a YouTube video where Deepak explains the concept that We Are Not Our Bodies.

There is a woman named Dr. Terry Wahls who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2000. Even though she took the latest in medicines and got the best medical care, by 2003 she was wheel-chair-bound and getting worse. She did a lot of research on the brain and disease to try to figure out how to save herself and then healed herself completely be eating vegetables, fruits and certain other foods. Her story is absolutely fascinating and you can see it yourself in this TedX talk called Minding Your Mitochondria.

There are certain people in my industry that I consider holistic health rock stars. Dr. Joel Fuhrman is one of them. He released a book last November called Super Immunity, which I highly recommend. In the book, he explains that eating the right nutrient-dense vegetables and fruit can create a level of health where we never catch a cold or flu, and if we do, it lasts a very short time. And, the best part, we can dramatically lower our risk of ending up with all of the major lifestyle diseases including heart disease, sugar diabetes and cancer.

For me, the common thread in all this information is the insight into how, through smart nutrition and lifestyle choices, we can optimize both our mental and physical health. Literally, over time, we can create a completely different, healthier version of ourselves.

I will be 49 in February and I’m going to give myself a gift this year that is actually for my 50th birthday: the gift of my own version of Optimal Health. I am going to spend the next year creating the 2013 model-year of my body. I’m betting it will be stronger, healthier, happier and younger than the 2012 model.

The best part is, I will be sharing the entire process with you!

This is a long article. If you are still reading, you are one of the people who really care about your health. I bet some of your friends might even refer to you as a health nut. Good for you! I want you to join me on this journey. Together, we will create a support structure so that we can not only meet our goals, but also exceed our wildest expectations!

The party starts this week!

Please join me on Tuesday evening, at 6:30 p.m. PST – 9:30 p.m. EST, for a free 30-minute teleseminar called Optimal Winter Wellness. On this call I will offer the best advice I’ve found for staying healthy all winter long. If you already have a cold, that’s an even better reason to join the call, because the tips I’ll be offering will measurably shorten the duration of any cold or flu.

Sign up here.

This is only the beginning.

Over the next year, I will offer a no-cost teleseminar once each month, always on the 3rd Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. PST - 9:30 p.m. EST, on a different aspect of Optimal Wellness. I will also offer practical tips and ways to integrate the information into your life.

Soon, I will be sending out the details on how you can join me for the first in a series of programs that have the potential to increase our individual wellness, no matter how healthy we are today, to an optimal level and sustain that level for the rest of our lives.

Please RSVP for Tuesday evening’s Optimal Winter Wellness teleseminar by filling out the form below. After you RSVP, you will receive an email with the call-in information.

Sign up here.

If you know other health nuts, or even just regular folk who might convert, you are welcome to share this email with them so they can register, also!

I look forward to hearing your voice on the call this Tuesday!

Have a wonderful, healthy day.

XO

Your Optimal Health Coach

Happy New Year, Everyone!

2012-01-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it’s the 7^th of January already! I am writing because I want to share with you what I’ve been up to during the time between Christmas and New Years. I spent the time planning my 2012 – and I want to share the exciting news with you!

The Health Harvest mission, this year, is to use the latest digital technology, web-based communications, group events and individual coaching to empower people, with a focus on entrepreneurs, to create optimal health through simple, effective and sustainable nutrition and lifestyle changes. By offering fun, informative and honest programming Health Harvest will enable more than 10,000 people to create measurable improvements in their overall health in 2012.

Yes, I am going to show 10,000++ people how to create their own Optimal Health!

Here’s how I’m going to reach my goal:

Growing Your Health - a monthly 30-minute teleseminar on different aspects of holistic wellness. The first teleseminar is on Tuesday, January 17^th at 6:30 p.m. PST and the topic is Optimal Nutrition – nutrition that will keep you well through flu season and beyond

A new website! I’m thrilled to say that my new website is in development. There will be recipes, free information and lots of health-related goodness. So exciting! My fingers are crossed for a February 1^st launch. I can't wait to share this new site with you!

As a jumpstart for your health (and a way to kick food cravings and lose a few pounds) I will continue to offer the 7-Day Chinese Herbal Cleanse once each month beginning on the 1^st Friday and ending the following Thursday. I will announce a new pricing structure soon that will take effect in February. As you have heard, this detox is a no-suffering, eating-lots-of-food, health-enhancing miracle – and it only takes 7 days. I hope you’ll take advantage of it!

Co-author a book entitled Entrepreneur Extraordinaire. I have submitted my chapter, which is on optimal health, and it’s been accepted! The book will be printed and available some time in March.

An Optimal Health Group! This group is only for those who are serious about pushing their overall health and wellness through the roof. I will present an informative webinar and facilitate a digital open forum once a month.

I will offer this group at no cost for a couple of months to get the bugs worked out and then charge a small monthly fee. Participants will be able to come and go as they please and pay only for the months when they wish to participate.

There will be guest speakers, the latest holistic health information, a private Facebook page and lots of FUN!
If you want to get in on the two free months, let me know and I’ll put you on the list. You’ll get all the details in February and this program will launch in March.

I will continue to provide my Premium Six Month Personal Coaching Program. This year, in order to provide the best coaching possible, I’ll only be taking on a small number of private clients. If you are ready to meet or exceed your health and wellness goals and spend the rest of your life feeling great, and you know you will need support to make it happen, please consider me as your health coach.

In early summer I will be offering a webinar series especially for women – Loving your Libido. Yes, I have some fabulous libido-building secrets and I’m going to share them all with you! The info on this series will come your way in April and the six-part webinar series will start in June. You won’t want to miss this one

I will continue to speak about health and wellness to groups and organizations. I love speaking and it’s a great way for me to reach a lot of people all at once. Please use me as a resource if you have a group that would benefit from learning simple ways to increase their health. I usually do these at no cost to the organization.

My favorite topics are:

Lower Your Stress, Without Changing Your Life
Eating for Optimal Immunity
Optimal Health for Busy Entrepreneurs

Believe it or not, that’s not all! There are even more exciting happenings in the works and I’ll keep you informed as they jell.

We have an exciting year ahead of us! Let’s get started!

PS - The pic is me this morning at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market picking up some Racho Gordo beans. They are the best! They have a bunch of different heirloom beans. I've tried quite a few and every batch has been fabulous. The beans are so fresh that you don't need to soak them. I usually soak them for 24 hours anyway so they sprout and lose their acidity. Beans are the unsung health food. They are full of micro-nutrients, protein and fiber!

Optimal Winter Wellness

2011-12-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

I have a confession. I have been sick. Recently. In fact, the whole thing just wrapped up on Thursday. I’m a health coach; I’m not supposed to get sick. How embarrassing. I was so hoping to get through the winter without getting sick. Bummer. How did this happen? Here’s how. The way it happens to everybody!

Before I left for Oregon to visit family for the holiday I had some deadlines so I was stressed and worked extra hours, not getting enough rest. Then, while I was there, instead of eating the nutrient-dense food that I am used to, I ate more meat and carbs than I usually do. On Thanksgiving, because the hors de oeuvres were so good, I was already full by the time the dinner was served, so, even though I took tiny portions, I overate.

Add to that a long walk on the cold windy beach with no hat on Friday and – bang – I woke up on Saturday with a cold.

Criminy!

I do know how to stay well during flu season, and I got into action to make myself better the second I got home. I’m feeling great now and my cold only lasted FIVE DAYS!

Here are the three most important things I did – that you can easily do, also - that fixed my cold FAST. And, the best part is, done consistently, these things will keep you well ALL WINTER. . .

I got right back to eating nutrient-dense food.

Vegetables and fruit that are all the colors of the rainbow, with a focus on dark green, keep you well. There are now studies that prove it. I eat at least four or five servings of vegetables each day. I eat primarily onions, carrots, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, lettuce and kale. Because of my level of busi-ness, I keep it simple, except on Sundays when I take time to cook, but that's a different blog post.

Preparing food doesn’t have to be complicated. You, too, can keep it simple if you like.

Here’s an easy recipe:

1 or 2 carrots

1 onion

6 or 8 mushrooms

1 small head of broccoli

- all organic if possible –

1 container of no-chicken chicken broth

Put ¾ of the container of broth in a pan, cut up the veggies. Throw it all in the broth except the broccoli. Let it boil for 15 or 20 minutes. While it’s boiling, eat the broccoli as a snack.

Voila! 3 large portions of soup in less than 30 minutes! Eat as much as you like. Eat the rest the next day.

I took a natural remedy that WORKS.

When I got home I immediately took a tablespoon of elderberry syrup. Scientists are now studying the stuff and preliminary studies show that elderberry concentrate enhances the body’s defense against viral infections, particularly influenza. It also helps shorten the duration of symptoms once you are already ill. It does this by inhibiting the adhesion of the invading virus to cell receptors, which keeps it from replicating, which lessens both the length and intensity of the illness. Plus elderberry syrup is high in antioxidants.

I rested and took good care of myself.

I also made sure that I got an extra hour of rest each night until I was better. Our bodies work hard all day to keep us well and when we have a virus, they have to work even harder. An hour or two of extra rest, and I do mean sleep, helps us recover from illness faster.

Each evening before bed I took a warm bath. I am a big fan of warm baths. They just make me feel better no matter what. I usually use some sort of calming or relaxing aromatherapy oil. Just laying back in the warm water, breathing the moist air and allowing my body to totally relax feel so good - a boost for both my body and sprit.

So there you have it! The three things I did to get better fast. You can do them, too. Take good care of yourself this winter. I don’t have time to be super-sick and I’m sure you don’t either!

Happy Winter!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving. May the holiday leave you feeling healthy, loved and energized!
I love this time of year. Even though I like the long days of summer best, I do appreciate the seasonal shift, the way the light looks different and even the shorter days. Makes me want to curl up in a blanket on the coach and read a good mindless work of fiction. And, even though that's not going to happen this year, I still have a lot to be thankful for.

I'm so grateful to have my career as a health coach. The training I received from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition has allowed me to improve my eating, see the connection between what I eat and how I feel, and to also examine the Primary Nutrition in my life: my relationships, exercise, spirituality and career and to see how improvements in those areas increase my overall health. What a fascinating journey. As I continue to peel away the "layers of the onion" of my health and wellness, I'll keep you informed.

I'm also thankful for my family and friends. My children, now grown, are a constant source of joy and my grandson (yes, I'm a Grandma) is just a blast! My significant other provides a continuous supply of encouragement, not to mention graphic design assistance and errand running. I am also blessed with a large group of supportive, fun and inspirational friends, both near and far. Support and inspiration is just a phone call or coffee date away. Life is good.
And, I am grateful for you. I appreciate that you take the time to read, or at least skim, the newsletters that I send, attend my teleclasses, cleanse with my cleanse groups and trust in me as your health and wellness advisor and coach. It means the world to me to serve others by helping them meet and exceed their health and wellness goals. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my soul purpose each day.

I hope that you will take a few minutes, or maybe even an hour (!), to sit and reflect on the things and people in your life that you are grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Getting Your Vitamin L

2011-02-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

This is a guest post by Integrative Nutrition.

Happy Valentine's Day and a Big Hug!

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Integrative Nutrition

February, the “month of love,” is here. It’s the time every year we are reminded to recognize and celebrate the love in our lives. We mark our calendar and give flowers, chocolates and cards.

We’ve made Valentine’s Day the big day, however we need to give and receive love all the time, not just on that one particular day. At Integrative Nutrition, we feel passionately about the importance of healthy relationships. We like to call this Vitamin L (the ‘L’ stands for love!). Getting a daily dose of Vitamin L is essential to living happier, healthier lives. Vitamin L comes in many forms and isn’t just about romantic love between two people. It can be love for ourselves, or a particular practice of self-care. Vitamin L can come in the shape of our partners, our pets, our kids or parents. Love is food for the soul and heart; it nourishes body, mind, and spirit for optimal wellbeing.

How do you get your Vitamin L? To celebrate the month of love and all of the different ways love can exist in our lives, we are having a fun contest. It’s easy, just show us how you get your daily dose of Vitamin L by submitting a picture. You could win a gift certificate to SoLove Self-Care. Help us inspire others to get a daily dose of Vitamin L!

Find our more about the Vitamin L Contest here.

11 Healthy Ideas for 2011

2011-01-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

For the new year, I want to share with you a list of simple ways to improve your health. Try the one that seems like a good idea, or try them all. Sometimes the smallest changes make the difference between feeling good and feeling great!

1. Drink more water.
Simple and heathful. Drink two or three extra glasses of water early in the day. Filtered is best. The human body is about 60% water in adult males and 55% in adult females (thanks, Wikipedia). More fresh water will increase your energy and help your body function better.

2. Take a walk.
We were made to move. Walk to work, to the store or just around the block a couple times. Park farther from work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk with co-workers at lunch. Walk with friends. Take a walk for entertainment. Look around. It's fun!

3. Eat a new green vegetable.
There are lots to choose from. Try a new one. You might fall in love. Fresh spinach, kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, beat greens, chard, cabbage, etc. There are lots to try and recipes are easy to find - go green!

4. Shop at a farmers' market.
A great way to support your local economy, make some farmer friends and improve your health at the same time. High quality fresh food has everything your body needs.

5. Care for yourself.
Try a new self-care idea. Snuggle with a water bottle. Give yourself a hot towel scrub. Try a tongue scraper. Enjoy a warm relaxing bath with essential oils that smell good to you. Invigorate at the end of your shower with a cool rinse (this is not as chilling as it sounds). Take a belly-dance class. Sing!

6. Make simple food.
Home-cooked simple food is great for our bodies. Brown rice and veggies really only takes 15 minutes of pre-time. 10 for veggie washing and chopping, 5 to get the rice started and finished. Just set the timer. No need to stand in the kitchen while the rice cooks. Season with your favorite seasonings. A good resource: Simple Food for Busy Families. Buy it locally - this link is just so you can see the cover.

7. Step into the sun.
Warm sun on the skin creates vitamin D. Vitamin D protects against osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Just 15 minutes on your bare arms and face each day in the summer or 2000 IUs of a high-quality supplement in the winter is all you need. Sunlight also helps protect against depression, insomnia and helps regulate the immune system.

8. Try a super-food.
Cacao or Raw Chocolate - highest anti-oxidant food on the planet, known as the "bliss chemical", Goji Berries - This superfood contains 18 kinds of amino acids, including all 8 essential amino acids, Spirulina - the world's highest source of complete protein (65%), Raw Honey - rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, and enzymes, Sea Vegetables - the most common is nori (the green sushi wrapper) seaweeds benefit the entire body, and are especially excellent for the thyroid, immune system, adrenals, and hormone function.

9. Sit quietly.
At the beginning or ending of the day, sit and concentrate on your breathing. Let you mind be empty. Relax. Connect with yourself. Don't do. Just be. For 5 minutes or 30 minutes. After all, we are human "be"ings, right? If you want to try something a little more formal, here are some choices.

10. Eat colorful food.
Beets, carrots, yams, kale, berries. Colorful food is nutrient dense and good for you. Raw or cooked, it's your best bang for the buck. Enjoy some!

11. Sleep better and longer.
Sleep is important. The body mends itself while you rest. Darken your sleeping space, or try a sleeping mask. Move the clock radio across the room and away from your head. Drink water early in the day so you don't have to wake up to pee. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. Avoid alcohol just prior to bed time. Don't eat anything within three hours of bed time. Keep stimulation to a minimum for an hour before you plan to sleep. Take a warm bath before bed, or warm your toes with a hot water bottle. Go to bed early enough that you don't need to use an alarm to wake on time. Rest well.

Here's to YOUR health and happiness!

The Oranges vs. the Hazelnuts

2010-12-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I am taking a professional training course to become a heath councilor with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The lessons are all on an ipod that came with my books and then there is a lot of support material on the website. I have been using my commute time on the train and bus to listen to the classes. On Thursday, I watched a video with Joshua Rosenthal demonstrating a "surprising time management secret".

He had three containers. one was about 3/4 full of hazelnuts, one was empty, and the other held 6 oranges. The hazelnuts represented all the tasks we have to do in our lives. The 6 oranges represented the really important things that we want to accomplish while we are here.

He demonstrated how we spend most of our time on the tasks by pouring the hazelnuts into the empty container, listing off menial tasks as he poured. He stopped occasionally to put in an orange, when he got done pouring the hazelnuts, the rest of the oranges wouldn't fit, and he said, "Sometimes people forget to do the important stuff, and one day they look around and say, 'Oh. I forgot to have kids.' or 'Oh. Where did my relationship go?'"

He then put the oranges back in their bowl and the hazelnuts back in their container. He said, "Do the important things first. Figure out what they are and do them. Don't worry about the other stuff. Concentrate on what is important to you." And he put all the oranges into the empty container. . . "All the tasks get done anyway." and he poured the hazelnuts over the oranges, they filtered into the empty spaces and it all fit.

It actually brought tears to my eyes.

Sometimes I get so freaked out by all the crap that needs done that I miss doing things that are important. For example, I forgot to call my aunt on her 80th birthday. What was I doing? Who knows, but I can tell you it wasn't important. Also, I just get distracted. I stare at the net. I go out to dinner. I work late. I watch a movie. And then I end up studying for long periods of time with long periods of time in-between. I know that doesn't work for information retention and I feel unorganized.

So, the first question to ask is, "What are the things that are important to me?"

My heath/exercise
Training to become a heath councilor
My relationship
My grandson/family
Looking for, finding and moving to, a place where we can grow food

And the second question is, "How can I concentrate on these things?"

Time reorganization feels like a possible answer. We have the time we have and we do with it what we will. I am a creature of habit just like everyone else. Routine is hard to shift. I've read that it takes 2 weeks to break a habit and a month to get a new one to stick. So, a new schedule focused on my priorities. I'm a professional planner. I'll create a new plan for myself. I'll keep you updated.

This isn't profound. It's a shift.

I'm lucky. I actually have the privilege of working with a health councilor while I'm in school. She's got my back. I'll be sharing my new plan with her and she'll be holding me to account. For me, telling others what I'm up to helps make it a reality. It helps me remember what I want to do be doing. And, oddly, remembering what I want to be doing isn't always that easy.

I'll also be enrolling Mr. Green. I'm discovering, through time, Mr. Green's patience and stick-to-it-iveness that I can't be the lone ranger and be in a relationship at the same time. . . sharing what's going on is important. At 47 I'm still working on getting past "I can do it all myself and I don't need your help." Which really doesn't work that well if I want to actually have the "relationshipness" that I crave. An orange for sure.

And for you? What are the Oranges in your life?

Dill Pickle Soup

2010-10-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

This post is for my cousin Kathleen, but I thought everyone else might enjoy it, also.

Dill Pickle Soup, a Polish dish, is a wonderful warming food that is easy to make, vegetarian, cheap and also good for you.

The first time I tried Dill Pickle Soup was on my first date with Mr. Green. We went to a Polish restaurant called Old Krakow in West Portal. He said that dill pickle soup was one of the best things on the menu and we ordered a cup to share. Needless to say, I was skeptical, but I tried it and it was delicious! Unfortunately, the restaurant is no longer there, and, although they said they were going to open up somewhere else in the city, they seem to have disappeared. Their dill pickle soup was wonderful! I'm not sure mine is as good, but I thank them for the inspiration.

You'll find lots of different versions of this soup on the net if you google it.

Here's my version:

Dill Pickle Soup
1 tbls olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 Idaho potatoes - not huge, but a little bigger than a standard baker
chicken or vegetable broth
dill pickles - preferably ones you put up yourself or some that you bought at a local farmers' market
1 large carrot
1 good-sized bunch of fresh dill
1/2 cup of pickle juice
whole milk
1 pat of butter (optional)

Dice onion, chop garlic fine and saute in the olive oil, in the bottom of a large sauce pan, until translucent.
If at all possible ALL of these veggies should be organic. So should the broth & the milk. OK, so all the ingredients should be organic - for your health & for the planet.

Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes, add to the onions and garlic and pour enough stock into the pot to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a gentle boil.

Chop up a bunch of pickles into small pieces - about the size of a pea (only, of course, they won't to be round). Make a pile that is about 3/4 as big as the pile of potatoes were.

I get that this is a lot of pickles. . .

Chop up the entire bunch of dill - take out the big stems and just chop the finer stuff. Add it to the pot.
And, yes, that's a lot of dill. Trust me, you'll like it.

Grate the carrot
This is as much for color contrast as it is for flavor, but it's also good for you so go ahead.

When the potatoes are about half done (10 to 15 minutes, depending upon your definition of small) add the pickles and the carrot.

Then add 1/2 cup of pickle juice.
I have no idea why I measure this, but I do.

Bring back to a gentle boil.

When the potatoes are almost done, add some milk. About a cup. Enough to turn the broth opaque. Heat to a gentle boil one last time.
Taste it at this point. Don't burn your tongue (I am notorious for burning my tongue tasting cooking food). If you want to richen it up a bit, add the butter. Just a pat. Not a bunch. You might also add a couple grinds of fresh pepper. I don't add extra salt, but I was raised without salt, so if you think it's not salty enough, add a little.

That's it. Turn the burner off, let it set for a few minutes, ladle it into bowls and eat it.

I like it kind of thin, so I don't thicken it. The starch in the potatoes thickens it enough. Also, if a lot of the broth has gone away during cooking, I add more when I add the milk. You can also add more pickle juice if you like the flavor. And, if you want to get fancy, save a few sprigs of dill to garnish the top!

Enjoy!

By the way, ALL of these ingredients are available right now at your local Farmers' Market. Shopping at the Farmers' Market is fun and supports your community. Buy Local!

Please note: I got the soup picture from Sister Mary Martha's blog, entitled Ask Sister Mary Martha and sub-titled "Life is Tough, but Nuns are Tougher. If you need advise ask Sister Mary Martha". A great blog! I love it! She hasn't posted since 2008, but it's still worth a look. The picture is under a post about Santa Claus. You should check out the blog if you are, at this point, just entertaining yourself. . .

The Next Healthy Thing for Me - A Letter to My Friends & Community

2010-10-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Fabulous Friends and Community,

I am a student again! I have enrolled in a health and nutrition class with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The course is a year long and at the end I will be a certified health coach. I'm SO excited! Wooowhoo! Since it's a distance learning course and all the info came to me weeks ago, I've totally cheated and have read and listened to a whole bunch of the material we are to cover. It's great stuff!

As most, if not all, of you know, I have always been interested in health and nutrition. My obsession with local food, gardening, eating and all things health-related is going to develop into my next career!

I'm going to learn a lot about all the different dietary theories out there. From the Zone Diet to the Blood Type Diet to Five Element Theory (which, by the way, I'd never heard of - Shocking!). I'm also going to learn a lot about listening, the basics of food consumption, and the latest in dietary theory - As well as the business end of being a health coach.

I chose Integrative Nutrition because of their basic philosophy, which is:

There are two types of food:
Primary Food consists of our relationships, our physical activity, our career and our spiritual practice.
Secondary Food is what we put in our mouths.

This was a revelation to me when I heard it! The world got brighter and bigger and all the stuff in my head around food and place and self-care and community started to link up like a string of old Christmas lights when you replace the right bulb! Fascinating!

There is no one-size-fits-all diet:
What invigorates you may bore me. What I eat to feel great might make you feel lethargic. What works for your body might make me have a rash! We all are intuitive and smart enough to figure out what will bring optimal health and happiness. . . all we need is information, support and encouragement along the way.

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

What will I do with all this new-found learning and inspiration?

Here's my vision for this year:

I'm going to share it with you. Here on my blog. So please check in occasionally to see what's new!
I'm going to offer seminars to groups, starting (hopefully) with my workplace.
I'm going to take on clients who want to increase their health and happiness.

Here's my vision for a few years after that:
I'm going to buy a piece of land and start a biodynamic human-scale garden/farm that will serve as the centerpiece for seminars, weekend retreats and classes about nutritionally dense food, how to grow it, how to cook it, how to enjoy eating it - and taking care of our children, grandchildren and ourselves as we age.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?!

Where will this garden/farm be? I have no idea, but I'm looking for that piece of land. Two to five acres with water rights in an area that's pretty and has a good growing season. Not sure if that's California, Idaho, Oregon or Washington - or someplace I haven't thought of yet.

I'm planning to apprentice on a biodynamic farm, either the fall of 2011 or the spring of 2012, for a year. There are a few out there that pay a small stipend, which is all I really need.

I am looking forward to the next part of my journey and sharing it with you. I cannot begin to express what you all mean to me.

For those of you who are new in my world, I have family and friends that are amazing. They've been there for me through many different phases in my life (not all good) and I love and admire every single one of them.

Of course, I can't do this alone. I will need your help and encouragement along the way.

To start with, if you have information about, or know of, a piece of land that is for sale that I would love, or a biodynamic farm that hires help, please post a comment or email me at greenlifejunkie@gmail.com.

Here's to the future!

Love to you all,
Tamara

PS - Mr. Green is totally supportive of this new adventure. Crazy man! :)

Mom's, Ethel's, Sally's Mom's & Mrs. Gregory's Mustard Pickles

2010-09-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm inspired to share a recipe.

My father passed away on July 4th and I just haven't felt like writing since then. I was at our family cabin this week and looked through some recipes. A while back my good friend Wendy asked if I had "The Mustard Pickle Recipe". I told her I was pretty sure I did and I said I would look for it. That was at least three or four months ago. . . I found it. Three versions, actually.

You need to get that "The Mustard Pickle Recipe" used to be a secret. The funny thing is, apparently everyone in the generation older than my mom used to make them. I read three very similar, but slightly different recipes from that older generation, plus I know I have another one floating around here someplace that is in my mom's handwriting that says "Ethel's Mustard Pickles" on top of the card, which is the one she wouldn't share, even though it wasn't hers in the first place. In a small town, recipes as awesome as "The Mustard Pickle Recipe" are a secret. And if you are lucky, you get a jar for Christmas.

The recipe listed here is a conglomeration of the three, plus my memories of watching the process multiple times, plus some logic.

Wish I had a picture of a jar of the "Real" ones. . . maybe next year. Here's what they look like, sort of. The color is right, anyway.

Mustard Pickles
2 or 3 quarts cucumbers, unpeeled - quarter lengthwise, scoop out big seeds & slice.
NOTE: 2 recipes called for 2 quarts, one called for 3. I don't recall any scooping out of seeds ever and this was suggested on only one of the recipes - I am including it as an option. As I recall, my mom used smaller cucumbers and cut them in half and sliced them in about quarter inch slices.

2 quarts pickling onions, peeled & left whole
NOTE: My father used to come home from work and sit at the picnic table with a small paring knife and peel these things for my mom and Ethel until it was dark. It is tedious work and best if you can find someone else to do it. You can just cube up a bunch of onion, if you don't have the patience. Also, if you got a jar for christmas with the little onions, you were damn special. Those jars were usually saved for family or those who were invited to dinner.

2 quarts cauliflower, broken into medium-sized pieces
NOTE: Not one of the recipes said what to do with the cauliflower. This is where I participated. I think you could call it child labor. . . "Not too small!" is the size.

2 red peppers, 2 green peppers
NOTE: Also no directions for these. I guess we all know what to do with them. . . cut 'em up, right?

Make brine with 1 cup salt & 1 gallon water.
Let stand 24 hours.
NOTE: What this means is put the brine on the veggies, preferably in a small crock, and let them soak for 24 hours. This is when you take a break, have a cocktail and eat some sort of grilled meat, corn on the cob and salad for dinner. My dad was responsible for grilling the meat - and making the cocktails. After he was done peeling all those tiny onions.

Bring to a boil, drain
NOTE: If you have a big enamel pot, that's what you should use. That's what my mom used, anyway. I'm pretty sure I recall her using another huge pot that was Club Aluminum. We all know better these days. Seriously, just to a boil.

Add Sauce:
1 cup water, 2 quarts vinegar
6 cups white sugar
1/2 cup dried mustard
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 cup flour

Heat to boiling, cook for 20 minutes. Just before putting in bottles, add 1 or 2 tablespoons celery seed.
NOTE: These pickles are in fairly big pieces. They are not exactly crisp, but they aren't mushy, either. Makes me wonder if 20 minutes is too long, even though all three recipes said the same thing. Also, I don't remember my mom adding the celery seed at the last minute and the amount varied from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons on each recipe. Maybe it should just say "to taste". I can tell you that there are definitely seeds in it. Enough that my mom probably used 2 tablespoons.

Bottle & Seal
NOTE: This means boil the bottles & seals long enough to make the kitchen hotter than hell (20 minutes, as I recall) and put the hot pickles in the hot jars, slap on a lid and crank on a ring tight - and don't burn yourself. Make sure the lip of the jar is CLEAN - my mom wiped each one with a hot well-wrung wash cloth and rinsed it often. Then put the jars on the counter or a rack to cool. each one will "Pop" when it seals. You can tell if any didn't seal by tapping on top of each one. Jars that don't seal sound flat - no "ping". Jars that don't seal can be put in the fridge to be eaten sometime in the fairly near future - a bonus that rarely happened with Kerr jars, seals and rings (Shameless promotion - my mother never used Ball).

GENERAL NOTE: OK, which kind of vinegar, white or apple cider? Your guess is as good as mine. None of the recipes say. I'm pretty sure it was apple cider, although we had both in the cupboard during canning season. Maybe Wendy knows. . . That's a lot of white sugar, by the way. Have no idea how to substitute for that. I think you might be able to sub tapioca flour for the wheat flour if you are gluten free. And, by the way, this "sauce" will stain EVERYTHING. I can remember a spot on our counter that faded gradually by the new year, kitchen towels that, after multiple washings, became rags and a wooden spoon that my mom dug out each time she made these pickles that was stained permanently. You can double or triple this recipe. I can remember hours and hours of cutting, peeling, laughing and swearing. And two large crocks that sat out overnight on the patio in the backyard in Rupert. There must have been a lot of Mustard Pickle Christmas Gifts that year. . . We always had the privilege of some of the new batch at Thanksgiving. . . they go really well with turkey. Yum!

If you don't grow a garden, all the fresh ingredients can, of course, be found at your local farmers' market. My mom used to drive around and get her ingredients from various friends with large gardens and people who sold produce out of their yards. Someone would call with a hot tip on where you could get cucumbers and the pickle making was on!

These pickles are best if you can get together with a couple of other women to make them. . . the shared labor, shared love and shared result is wonderful.

I get that it's a little late in the season to put this recipe out. It's really a mid-July recipe.

If you make these, I hope you will include me on your Christmas List.

Love to All and happy pickling!

The 20th Day of 20 Days of Hot Yoga!

2010-06-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

My 20 days of Bikram Hot Yoga are complete.

I did 20 sessions in 25 days and this is my 20th blog post.

The class this morning was great. Not nearly as hot as the class last night. When I was done, I felt totally normal. Not dizzy or light headed.

I am not even close to mastering anything about this yoga. I have a long way to go. I guess that's why I like it. Because it's not easy. Even after 20 sessions, I still can't balance through a pose for a whole minute. I'm not even close to being stretchy, but I'm more flexible than I was 20 days ago.

I am certainly stronger from top to toes. And I've lost some fat. Not lots, but I didn't have lots to lose to start with. I've lost about 5 pounds even though I've gained a lot of muscle.

Am I a changed person? Yes. I have a new experience of "calm" that allows me to be more present in my life. I get that the notion of "presence" is a "new age hippie" sort of thing, but think about it. How often are you suddenly brought out of your head and into the moment by a horn honking or a brightly colored flower? How much time do we spend on auto-pilot? Making coffee, taking a shower, going to work, blah, blah, blah.

It occurs to me as an absolute miracle that instead of just ignoring the cat when she meows good morning, I would choose to pick her up and pet her, feel her fur, put my ear on her back and listen to her purr. Just for a moment.

I'm not present all the time. I'm not sure we can be. But we can choose to break up the routine of our lives by paying attention to the details that make it beautiful daily. There is so much to notice. And yoga and the presence that it brings me is a vehicle to do that noticing. It makes my life more joyful. And that's a good thing. After all, as far as I know, we are only here once. I'm choosing to enjoy it.

And, breathing! I breath deeply more than I ever have. It feels good. Paying attention to your breath is another way to bring yourself into the present moment. Not really doing anything different, but just choosing to feel the air go in and out. Try it. If you really pay attention, you can feel the cool air go way down in your lungs.

I encourage you, if you haven't tried yoga, to give it a shot. Or, if you have tried it, I encourage you to try it again with the idea of the "long-term now" in mind. In other words, seeing your "practice" as something that serves and will serve you, both in the moment and for years to come. You don't even have to attend a class. There are great videos available. I've written about some of them in an earlier blog called "It Does a Body Good".

I have the short evening yoga routine on the Yogaworks Beginners AM/PM DVD memorized. I do it most nights right before bed. It takes maybe 10 or 12 minutes and I sleep really well. Even on nights when I have a big event or important meeting the next day. It was a huge revelation for me to discover that I could have some control over my quality of sleep. What a god-send!

Of course, attending a class is great. There are like-minded people there to meet. You can ask questions of the instructors and other students, and there is a group energy that is inspiring that just can't be generated at home. Unless you invite the neighbors over, of course. Now there's an idea. Neighborhood yoga parties. . .

If you want to try Bikram Yoga at the Seacliff studio, your first class is free. Tell them I inspired you and I get a free class, too.

Nameste.

Day 19. . . One day left of 20 Days of Hot Yoga!

2010-06-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

I know I said I was going to go all mornings the last three days. Just didn't work out that way. Yesterday I didn't go at all. Went to dinner with a friend who was in town instead. A social priority.

Today I went to the 6:30 p.m. class. It was crowded as usual. There were a lot of new people and it was darn hot. The instructor was a female that I haven't had before. She was good. Of course, they are all good. Lots of people left class during and lots of people were sitting through some of the poses. It wasn't exactly a high energy class. I felt good at the end. Just getting through class is an accomplishment.

I got some great pointers tonight. The biggest one was, when your pulse rate is up and you are breathing hard, breath into your stomach. It keeps you calm. Breathing into your chest causes your fight or flight mechanism to go. She said this just as I was wondering, in my head, why I was feeling panicky. I was sucking air - something I do regularly after difficult poses - but didn't seem to be calming down. The second I breathed into my stomach, my whole body calmed.

The other thing I heard was, during Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose, to put your hands in prayer position even if you knee isn't straight. Totally different stretch.

And, if you have your hands in prayer position, it's also a balancing pose. Also a much deeper stretch, even if your knee isn't straight. Mine isn't yet. The important part is keeping your head on your knee. Let me just say that I can feel that stretch even now in the very tops of the backs of my thighs - right under my glutes.

My balance wasn't as good today as it was last time I went. I'm not judging it. It will be interesting to see how my balance is as I finish my 20 days tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I totally get that more than two days off a week does not serve me. I don't feel like I progress unless I do three days in a row. They rhythm of exercise that has always worked for my body is three days on one day off. Four days on is doable, but my body gets overly exhausted if I do more. Less is just maintenance.

For lunch I had a half of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat, thanks to a co-worker, and a multi-grain chocolate chip cookie. I get that an organic apple probably would have been a better choice, but that cookie was mighty good. They make them at the cafe next door to my work and they have oats, flax seed and nuts and a bunch of other "grainy things". I ate about 1:00 because that's just how my day went. And guess what? No digestion issues during yoga! I didn't feel nauseous at all.

I'm not crazy about going to the 6:30 class, not because it's crowded, but because I don't like eating late at night. I get home around 8:20 and by the time I throw some food together, I'm eating at 9:00 p.m. That's way too late. It's much better for my digestion and my sleep to have all the food consumption wrapped up by 7:00. And not eating isn't a option. I'm hungry after 90 minutes of yoga! I don't need a lot of food, but I definitely need some.

I've been thinking about how to get more liquid nutrition. I think that might work better than eating solid food late in the evening. I'm not a huge fan of smoothies made with ice. They make my core temperature drop too low and I freeze. I'm going to have to figure out a way to make them without the ice. It has to be pretty hot outside in order for me to be interested in something icy cold.

I only have one more day left in my first 20 days. I definitely am going to continue. I don't want to lose the benefits that I have gained so far and I want to go further. I want to be able to balance for a bunch of classes in a row. I want to be able to hold a standing pose for an entire minute on both sides. I want to feel my strong lower and mid back flexing as my feet lift off of the floor in locust pose.

I have a long way to go. I don't want to stop now. How cool would it be to feel stronger than I feel right now when I'm 60? 80? 100? That's possible. I'll keep going.

Day 18 of 20 days of Bikram Hot Yoga!

2010-06-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Twisting feels SO good. At this point, I can turn all the way around and see the back corner. I have no idea why it feels so good, but it does. The more I sit up and the more I twist, the better it feels. Sort of like wringing yourself out like a washcloth. Rumor has it that you can twist all the way around and see the wall you are twisting away from. . . seems a bit "exorcist-esque", doesn't it?

Day 18 was a big learning experience. . .

I will Never eat white pasta before I do yoga ever ever again! I had pesto pasta salad for lunch. At noon. I attended the 4:30 p.m. class - 4.5 hours later - and I felt like I was going to wretch for at least two-thirds of the class. Yuck. It wasn't a big serving, either. I know my body doesn't do well with white flour anything, but I figured the pasta would digest by 4:30. I made it through the class, but I felt like crap afterward. I didn't ever get my energy back and I didn't sleep well. All because of one serving of white pasta. Crazy.

I did have pretty good balance during the standing poses. I'm starting to kick my leg out during standing head to knee pose. As long as I can keep my standing knee locked, I can kick out.

My leg doesn't go straight out in front. I'm not that stretchy yet. But I can kick it out some and still balance on my other leg. I get that being able to balance is as much mind over matter as anything else.

I was able to do standing bow pose enough that my standing leg was burning from top to bottom - a new sensation for me. It doesn't really hurt, but it's uncomfortable. Really feels like all the muscles are on fire. And I got a great back stretch again.

My lower back is getting stronger. And my feet and ankles are, too.

A good class. A good lesson.

Hot Yoga! Day 17 of 20!

2010-05-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

I went to the early class this morning. 7:45 a.m. Susanne was the instructor.

When I started this journey I was going early in the morning. Then after the 1st week or so I decided to go in the afternoon instead. Since I only have three classes left, I'm going to finish the way I started - in the morning.

I was surprised this morning that my balance was much better. Certainly immensely better than when I started. I actually stood in bow pose on both sides. Not for the whole 60 seconds but for a bit. I can tell you that my lower back got a good stretch and is sore already.

I pushed myself pretty hard today and I can feel all the muscles in the backs of my legs. It will be interesting to see how the day goes. I do intend to go for a walk in the park a bit later, even though it's foggy today. Still hoping it will burn off.

The website where I get the little pictures of the poses has great descriptions of each one and the benefits that come with practicing them. It's the website for a studio in Texas. If you are interested in reading, here's the site. I am going to do some reading to deepen my practice. I am one of the people, when I start something new, who just dives in and starts, then, later, I figure out the details and specifics. I'm ready to read about Bikram.

Bikram Yoga = No Inflammation. I have always had issues with inflammation. I figured it was just part of being female. It was a rare day when I would wake up and feel "thin" - which, sadly, translates to not bloated. I didn't look swollen, but my ring that I always wear would be tight and my joints would be stiff. This is a different stiffness than comes from exercise. Sometimes I would wake up that way or sometimes it would build over the course of the day, but, especially when it was hot outside, I would feel "swollen".

I discovered that riding my bike long distances would take the inflammation away, which was great. But it didn't last and I can't ride my bike 40 miles every day. I haven't had a day when my body has felt inflamed since I have been doing this yoga. I noticed the difference after the 1st day. Fabulous. I feel so much better.

There has also been a shift in my food consumption. If I eat too much, I feel horrible. Not just too full but stuffed and blah. This doesn't mean that I don't eat too much. I still do occasionally. Today, after yoga, I made a salad for breakfast and ate a piece of toast and that was enough. Heavy food is just not appealing. Neither is caffeine.

It's funny how our habits sometimes drive for us. Sunday morning I got up and had a cup of coffee. About half way through I was "buzzing" and realized I needed to dump the rest back in the pot or down the sink. Certainly didn't need the coffee. Made me feel slightly ill, actually.

I had pancakes with strawberry compote for breakfast. Then, in the afternoon around 2, I ate some leftover fried potatoes. I felt instantly stuffed. My mate made homemade baked beans later and I had a small bowl. I felt stuffed all evening. Still felt full right before I went to bed at 11:30.

My body is craving fresh food. Veggies and fruit. Hence, the salad for breakfast. If I can remember to let my body guide me, rather than my old habits, I'm sure I'll continue to feel better and better. I get that this is all about being present.

I'm going to finish my 20 days strong and do the last three days all in the morning. Then I'll decide what's next. . .

Here's to another day of yoga!

Hot Yoga Day 16 of 20!

2010-05-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

I went to yoga on Friday afternoon at 4:30.

It was a pleasant class. Not packed to the gills. I didn't push myself to the maximum, but still had the sensation of slight dizziness when I sat up from the final savasana. I wonder if this is just a reaction to relaxing deeply. The sensation passed quickly enough.

I haven't had a headache since day 3 and I don't take any sort of pain killers for muscle soreness anymore. My body is sometimes sore and the soreness shifts around as different parts of my body get stronger.

I think my balance has improved as much because my feet and ankles are stronger as that my mind is stronger. I am determined to be able to do the standing poses without tipping. This hasn't happened yet, although I can now do the opening part of Standing Head to Knee Pose without falling over, which is the standing with one knee locked out and holding the other foot in my hands. The part before, in theory, I would kick my leg straight out in front of me. . .

Last week at some point one of the instructors said that the idea was to use your thigh muscle to hold your leg up, not your interlocked hands. I had only been flexing my leg muscles until I got my hands locked underneath my foot and then letting my leg relax into my hands, which was creating strain in my low back. Doing it correctly doesn't strain anything. Duh.

I'm doing well enough at staying in the moment that I am usually slightly surprised when the balancing poses are over.

The floor poses that are back and spine strengthening are definitely the most difficult (and so the most necessary for me) poses in the class. As I've said before, locust pose is the most difficult:

Looks easy, doesn't it? I'm not sure if there's something I'm not doing correctly, but I can tell you that whatever muscles in my back would pull my legs in this direction are basically non-functional. Weird. I have always been athletic and to discover that there is a part of me that is so weak is a strange experience. I'm looking forward to the day when I can feel that the muscles that make this pose happen are sore and getting stronger.

And, by the way, if you are not familiar with this pose, the arms on this one are turned so your hands are palms down, pinkies touching and rolled under the body. Elbows should touch - under the body. Oddly, my arms fit perfectly inside my hip bones (yours probably do, too). I remember the second day I put my arms under my body. I thought for sure my shoulders would come out of their sockets and my arms would simply fall off. . . my shoulders are much more flexible now.

During the last couple of classes I've gotten a much deeper (or would that be higher?) bow pose. Not sure what loosened up - could be my mind - but I can now feel my hip bones pushing on the floor. The idea after that is to roll forward onto my belly button. . . not exactly there yet.

Funny, looking at this little illustration, I'm not sure that I consciously look up during the pose. Might have to try that, if I remember in the moment.

Another pose that I am just getting started on is Fixed Firm Pose. It looks like this:

If you are thinking, "Good God! That looks like it would kill your knees!" You would be correct. I have good knees. I am one of the lucky few who make it through high school sports and adult soft ball league with my knees intact. And, I have discovered, my knees are pretty tight. I can do the 1st part of this pose where you stick your butt between your feet and sit down - almost. I can also lean back on my elbows, but the 1st part of the pose is to actually sit on the floor. . . I am now playing it safe and working on that since, really, I'm not sitting on the floor. My whole upper body is being held aloft by my not-stretchy knees. Scary. I'll continue to work on sitting on the floor.

One of the huge benefits that I have received since I started this journey is I have a ridiculous amount of energy. Yesterday I volunteered at the CUESA breakfast from 7:30 until 2:00. We ran around and set stuff up, bussed tables, reset the whole thing twice and generally were on our feet the whole time. It was great fun. I came home and went to the beach. Then I stayed up until 11:30 watching movies. In the past, this day would have had a serious nap in it somewhere.

I like this new normal.

I have a decision to make soon. I have to figure out if I'm going to continue this adventure. . . at the regular price. I have to admit that even the least expensive option of $89 per month does not fit into my budget at all. . . and I get that it's worth it. Here in SF a basic gym membership costs about the same.

I get that a yoga practice, established now and continued indefinitely, would serve me well.

I listened to a futurist speak a while back and he said that we can expect to live until well past 100 and we should plan our lives that way. I'm 47. My children's generation - those that eat healthy, anyway - can expect to live to 120. My grandchild's generation (yes, I'm a grandmother) can expect to live to 150.

This yogi, Swami Yogananda, is 99. He travels the world teaching yoga, is learning English and hopes to write a book about yoga.

Now that's flexible. . .

20 Days of Hot Yoga - Day 15 - INtense!

2010-05-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

I attended the 6:30 class this evening. It was HOT!

The class was beyond full. Had the same instructor as last night and I still don't know his name. Whoever he is, he's great.

It was an intense session. I worked really hard. All that deep stretching leaves me sore when I wake up in the morning, though. I think tomorrow might be a kinder gentler day - if I can remember. I get so involved and inspired that I really push myself and then at the end, when I sit up from the last shavasana, I'm dizzy and can barely pull myself together.

I have to take my glasses off for some of the poses because they get in the way. The instructor almost stepped on them tonight as he was walking around the class. I heard his toe pop as he realized what he was doing. I hope his foot is OK. He checked with me after class to make sure he hadn't bent them. Nice guy.

I found myself thinking ahead a couple of times tonight. It's much better if I just stay in the moment and deal with what's going on right now (or "in the now" as they say). Thinking ahead makes the class a tiny bit torturous. Staying in the moment is much better. For both the body & the mind.

There were a few people who were clearly over-heated tonight. The instructor talked about mind over matter and how a yogi can walk on hot coals simply by telling himself that they are cold as ice. I spent about the last third of the class, during shavasana, repeating "my body is cool, my blood is cool" in my mind, over and over, and it really helped.

Another thing I'm working on is calming my breathing. You should be able to go through all the poses with the same calm breathing. I am still sucking air on some of the more intense ones. It's not easy. As Shaun says, if you come to class and it's easy something is wrong.

There is something else that has happened to me in the last three days. Somehow, I am attracting people who want to talk to me. I've had great conversations. On the bus with a Korean woman who's learning English (her English was a good as mine). With an older gentleman in front of the Castro Theater (he invited me to the movie with him. Too bad I had to go to work). With the female bus driver on the way home tonight (we talked about eating healthy and exercise).

This is definitely a shift. I have no idea what has brought it on. Is it the yoga? Is it the meditation? Is it just that I'm more present so I seem approachable? Or are people suddenly just friendlier? Whatever it is, it's fun. I like it.

I came home and ate a bowl of steamed carrots with parsley and butter (yum) and then ate a half of a tuna fish sandwich. I was hungry. Actually, I was hungry before class. My lunch salad didn't stay with me through the afternoon and I didn't think I should eat anything. Might need to figure out a way to drink some nutrition late in the afternoon. . .

Tomorrow is day 16. Wow.

Day 13 of 20 Days of Hot Yoga!

2010-05-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today I attended the 4:30 p.m. class.

It was full. Not quite as full as yesterday's class, but full enough.

It's interesting how each instructor inspires me in a different way. Today's instructor, who's name I don't know, inspired me to stretch deeper and not only was I able to pull my heels off of the floor again, but I also got a much higher bow pose (this is the upside down back bend where you lay on your stomach, reach back, grab your feet then kick with your feet and pull with your arms until your torso makes a bow).

There is one pose that I am a total failure at. It's called Salabhasana or Locust Pose.

Here's what it looks like when done properly:

That just doesn't happen.

Neither does this:

In fact, if my legs lifted 5 inches off of the ground, I'd be shocked. I'm not sure if I just don't know which muscles to activate or if my lower back is so weak that I can barely begin. There is definitely some serious room for improvement on that one. I'm not a very good Locust.

My balance was WAY better today! Finally I was able to stand for a full minute on my left leg with my right foot in my hands and then stand for a full minute on my right leg with my left foot in my hands! Also, I did a much better standing bow pose:

I did fall out once or twice. And, no, it did not exactly look like that, but I did see my foot over my back in the mirror briefly, which is a Huge improvement. Yea!

On day 10 I was beginning to think that my body wasn't going to cooperate or progress. I am not known for my patience. I am learning. At 47, it's not to late.

The final shavasana of the class was good today. Often, I find that I can't let my mind be still and stay in the moment for more than mere seconds. . . and then I get frustrated. I read something this morning that helped. . .

"Feel the aliveness within your body. That anchors you in the Now." Eckhart Tolle

Let me tell you what, after 1.5 hours of Hot Yoga, I can feel the Aliveness! The blood rushes around my body, sweat streams off of me and there is a general buzz that I'm pretty sure you could hear!

What are you doing for your physical health?

If you'd like to try a Bikram Yoga class, Bikram Yoga Seacliff offers a free class for 1st time students. And, if you tell them that I inspired you, I get a free class, too!

Days 12 of Hot Yoga!

2010-05-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

I ended up not going to yoga on Sunday. It just didn't fit in and I am not interested in creating stress for myself so I can go and reduce my stress.

I did go on Monday.

Yesterday I went to the 6:30 class which was totally full. I got there and there was one spot in the back corner and a few open spaces in the front row. I took the spot in the back.

The best thing that happened was I was able to stretch forward, grab my big toes, lock my knees and pull my heels up off of the floor. Amazing. I can't say that it felt fantastic, but it didn't really hurt either. It felt like an accomplishment. I wanted to shout "Hey! Look! My heels are off the floor!" Big smile goes here.

I am still sweating buckets in class. I know I've said this before, but, it's incredible. Actually, I think my sweating has increased over time. The stuff just pours out of me. Crazy. I can tell you it has improved the skin on my face greatly. I require less moisturizer and my pores are tighter. This is great!

I am working to finish the class strong. This is supposed to increase your energy. I am pretty wiped out by the time we get to the last three or four poses, so it's mind over matter. I just keep telling myself that my body is strong and getting stronger.

I was a bit light-headed after class. Actually, I'm generally light-headed after class. When I sit up in the room after the final shavasana, I usually sit for a minute and drink water, both to rehydrate and to allow my equilibrium to stabilize.

I finished all my water on the bus ride home. It doesn't serve me to sit for an extended period of time right after class. When I stood up to get off the bus my whole body felt stiff. I may have to stand up for part of the ride home in the future, which will look weird since there are few people on the bus at 8:15 p.m.

Not that I don't already look weird covered in sweat with my hair a mess.

I wear my hair in a ponytail. It gets so wet from the sweat on my back that there's no way I could comb it right after class. I generally just try to smooth it back and leave it as-is. I may have to start pinning it up in the back.

When I got home, I wasn't very hungry so I just had a salad with my new favorite dressing. Olive oil, a small bit of toasted sesame oil, a little honey melted in a a little hot water and ponzu sauce. Yum! I have no idea why this dressing does it for me, but it's so good that I drink what's left in the bowl.

I was watching a movie and at 10:15 I couldn't stay awake one moment longer. I slept like the dead and woke at 6 feeling fabulous.

When I got out of bed, the backs of my legs shouted, "Hey! Look! We're here!" Stretching that deeply the 1st time was bound to have its consequences. My legs did warm up and calm down over the course of the morning.

Please Note: I have no idea if people bend over backward as far as the illustration at the top of the page. I can tell you that I don't. Although, I can now see part of the back wall when I do this pose. . . Guess I'll have to take a look around the room and see just how far people bend back. . .

Onward!

Day 11 of 20 of Hot Yoga!

2010-05-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Saturday) I did the last class of the day at 6:30. Shaun was the instructor. It was awesome.

There are so many things that are said or revealed in class that are important.

Just the one idea that you can experience the 90 minutes as 90 minutes of moving meditation gives such a different perspective on this form of exercise!

Here are some others:

It's all about you. There's nothing else that needs to be in the room besides you and your body. All the rest of the "life stuff" can be left at the door. There's nothing else to do in that 90 minutes except the poses.

You get from it what you give to it. You can complain in your head and wonder when it's going to be over and "try" or you can experience it moment by moment as a revelation of who you are and a joyous and energizing experience and "do".

What happens in class is the same every time. The thing that is different every time is you, so no two classes are ever the same.

The amount of effort you choose to put forth determines what you get from the class, whether it's a day when you push yourself really hard to the next level and feel exhausted and rewarded or a day when you just experience the flow of it all and come away feeling centered and energized. You get to choose.

And then there's:

The whole thing is about strengthening the spine. It is better than a chiropractic adjustment. If you go to a chiropractor, you lose the adjustment quickly because muscle memory will press your spine back to the way it was before. Muscle strengthening and spine lengthening retrains your muscles to support your spine and is a permanent part of the practice. The long term effect is a younger body. Who doesn't want that?!

Focusing on the "now" during yoga will bleed over into your daily life. You will be more attentive during conversation - a better listener. You will fully experience what is right in front of you, whether that is a cup of tea or a bird singing. You will have more Patience with yourself and others (this one is important for me!).

You will eat better. You will stop craving those "emotional" foods that are not so good for you. Trust me, this does happen. Normally on Saturday night I would eat something high-fat and have two glasses of wine. Last night I ate a salad and had a cup of herbal tea and that was what I really wanted. Like really. I'm as shocked as you are, believe me.

This practice still does "do me in" occasionally. It's kind of funny how what is sore shifts around after each class. I'm sure this is a strengthening thing. One muscle group gets strong which makes another batch of muscles respond in kind.

I'm not getting a whole lot lighter, but I can tell you I'm getting slimmer. Which feels fab.

I think later in the day may be better for me than 1st thing in the morning. I'm going to go to work early tomorrow and do the 4:30 class and see how I do with that. Today I'm going to do either the 4:30 or the 6:15 class.

You can try this yoga for free. Bikram Yoga Seacliff offers a free class to all new students. If you decide to go, let them know that I referred you. That way I get a free class, also!

Day 10 of 20 Days of Hot Yoga!

2010-05-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Wow. Half way through my 20 days already. . .

This morning my lower back was pretty sore from volunteering at an event last night. We carried a lot of stuff and some of it was heavy. It made doing the poses just that much more difficult. Even getting into shavasana hurt.

Please Note - my lower back pain today had nothing to do with the yoga class and everything to do with the fact that my lower back is not as strong as it's going to be and I schlepped a lot of stuff around last night. And, it actually feels much better tonight, having done the yoga class this morning.

I have to say that, being half way done, I'm a bit disappointed by my progress. . . it's my lack of balance that bothers me the most. It's slightly better, but still pretty pathetic.

I wonder how malleable my body really is.

At 47, can I really become flexible enough to do this?:

Can I get strong enough to do this?:

Can I actually get centered and catch my balance long enough to do this?:

You'll notice that his hips are level. When this is done correctly, it simply defies gravity. He should tip over - like I do.

I have a feeling that it's going to take a lot more than 20 sessions to get where I want to go. . .

There is some weird correlation between eating after class and suddenly feeling a deep desire to go to sleep. I drop into a food coma. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I haven't tried just fruit. I may try that over the weekend. Maybe I'm eating too much. I am really hungry by the time I get to eat. I need to figure this one out. I don't think it's going to fly at work for me to close my door and crash on the floor for 30 minutes every day. . .

I'm tired tonight. I'll sleep well and tomorrow will be another yoga day. Every morning I hear someone different say "my practice is different every day". So is mine. Sometimes slightly disappointing, sometimes fabulous.

Here are the benefits I am seeing so far:

Better flexibility.

A sense of calm.

Consciousness and the ability to stay in the moment longer.

Increased ability to listen.

Increased strength and muscle awareness.

And, yes. I've lost some weight. Three or four pounds, which is great.

I do like having a regular yoga practice. It feels really good and like an accomplishment every day.

Is it worth the time and effort? Absolutely! Can't wait to see what the next 10 days bring.

Day 9 of 20 days of Bikram Yoga!

2010-05-19T14:02:00.001-07:00

Today was great.

It was all about being gentle. I have strained the inside of a thigh muscle on my left leg. I know exactly how I did it. Coming out of a pose. How dumb is that?

The instructor today was exactly what I needed and I'm ashamed to say I can't remember her name. She kept saying "gently and slowly" which brought a whole new perspective on coming out of the poses. I was careful with myself. Not pushing too hard, because all of my back muscles were pretty sore last night and I could feel the strained muscle in my leg.

Coming out of the poses slowly and gently allowed me to actually finish each one strongly and yet carefully.

I still worked hard and sweated up a storm, but I wasn't exhausted at the end. Also, my balance was remarkably improved. I actually did the "twisty pose" also known as Eagle Pose (below)

once on each side without falling out. I hope that sticks. Of course, I didn't do it perfectly, but I did my version of it!

I heard a women, after class, say to someone, "Every session is different." I'm hoping my balance continues to improve and that is the difference for me.

I wonder if my focus was better today because I had the day off and didn't need to worry about rushing off to work afterward. It will be interesting to see how it goes tomorrow - on a regular work day.

Nine days has gone by quickly and enjoyably. I'm looking forward to day 10!

Day 8 (Wow!) of 20 days of Bikram Yoga

2010-05-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

This morning was good. Still pretty intense. It was only 13.5 hours since my last session and I spent 7 of those sleeping! My upper back and thighs were a bit stiff and sore when I got out of bed. Took some "mind over matter" to get things moving.

Susanne was the instructor this morning.

What I "got" today was the conscious choice to let go of what we had just finished, enjoy the moment of pause and then move on. In the past I would find myself caught up in the previous pose while starting the next one. Either thinking about how crappy my balance was or wondering if my posture was right, etc.

Today, when we were pausing, I was able to refocus my mind on the present. Literally by staring at one fiber of my towel. Susanne said, a few times, "Let go and be present". Good mind exercise as well as body.

I also "got" that one of the poses that I thought was about stretching my leg muscle is really about lengthening and stretching my spine. . . felt totally different to think of it that way. I also realized that I wasn't relaxing my spine during shavasana and was able to choose to relax more deeply.

So, for the last three sessions my focus has become more and more centered on my spine. Ever since I got that one good stretch. I don't think I've ever focused on my spine during exercise before. Like ever - my whole life. It is a pretty important part of the body. I'll continue to focus on it now.

I have spent years Not locking my knees. For all the sports I've played from baseball to volleyball, you bend your knees slightly. Aerobics? Bend your knees slightly. Weight lifting? Bend your knees slightly. Cycling? Make sure your seat is adjusted so your knees are always at least bent slightly. Even golf requires slightly bent knees!

I remember thinking, on the 2nd day of class, "She couldn't possibly really mean Lock Your Knees. You're not supposed to do that." I was going to ask after class and then I realized that she wouldn't be saying it if she didn't mean it! Duh! So I am know learning to lock my knees. It's not as easy as you might think. Especially locking your knee for a whole minute balancing on one leg. Not that I've ever spent a whole minute on one leg. . . I've spent parts of a whole minute. Possibly 30 or 40 seconds at one time. It makes my leg shake. I'm such a wimp! I thought my lower body was strong. Not so.

I'll be back in class tomorrow. If anything of note happens over the course of the rest of this day, I'll add it.

I am still consuming at least 64 ounces of water. I've had 32 ounces so far today and it's 1:00 p.m.

Time to refill my bottle!

Day 7 of 20 days of Hot Yoga!

2010-05-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some basics and the benefits of Bikram Yoga from the Seacliff website:

Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class is a twenty-six posture series done in a heated room, designed to scientifically warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons, in the order in which they should be stretched.

Bikram’s Hot Yoga systematically moves fresh, oxygenated blood to one hundred percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order, just as nature intended. Proper weight, muscle tone, vibrant good health, and a sense of well-being will automatically follow.

I can tell you I feel great and I require less sleep than I did a week ago. My head is clearer. And I have more flexibility, which is good. It is important to me to maintain my flexibility as I grow older. I want to always be able to hike and bike and be physical.

In shavasana, after finishing a pose, I can usually feel my heart beating throughout my body. Even in my hands and feet. It feels good. I am shocked by how much I sweat during class. Even my ankles sweat! I drip. My shorts and top are totally soaked afterward. I'm sure all the sweating is good for my system. Toxins be gone! Also, the skin on my face looks better and my pours are tighter.

So today I decided to try an afternoon class. I thought I might have better balance later in the day. Or that I might be stretchier or that the class might be easier or more fulfilling - or something. Anyway, I was at the studio for the 4:30 p.m. class.

I finished lunch (a burrito) at 2:00. At 3:00 I was still feeling sort of full. At 4:00 I figured I was going to be fine - 2.5 hours since I had eaten should be plenty of time for me to be comfortable in class. Not so. Possibly I'm just used to doing this yoga on a totally empty stomach. I actually belched a couple of times during, and felt slightly nauseated near the end of the session.

This session was the second hardest I have done. Just barely better than day 1. I was dizzy and light-headed when class was over. I did balance a little better today. Not remarkably better, but somewhat better. I am so looking forward to the day that I can balance for 60 seconds on one leg with the other one over my head. . . someday.

The class was full and probably half actually sat down and didn't do all of the poses. I did all of it and wow was it intense. I was red-faced and shaky afterwards. It took a good forty minutes for me to feel normal again. Of course, the first day I didn't feel normal all day. . . I just got that today wasn't really that bad. Just different that I expected.

I'm going back to mornings. First thing in the morning.

Day 6 - Hot Yoga! Stretching Deepens. . .

2010-05-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

I thought for sure if I went to the early class it wouldn't be crowded. I figured people would sleep in and come later in the day. Wow, was I wrong. The class was packed wall to wall. Totally different than any class I've been to. Probably 30 people. Everyone was kind and cooperative and it all worked out fine.

Also, overnight, they took out the carpet and replaced it with one giant yoga mat. Crazy. The new flooring is a little stiffer than a yoga mat, but very similar. It is a bit slick when you are all sweaty, and, as the instructor said, you have to work harder to keep your legs from sliding. I assume it's washable and they will be mopping it every evening.

Class was good. My balance gets a tiny bit better every day. Shaun talked about the link between body and mind yesterday - that a healthy body creates a healthy mind - that a flexible body creates a flexible mind. I'm hoping my body and mind will both get more balanced (and flexible) soon.

There is a pose called Sasangasana (Rabbit Pose) where you start sitting on your feet and then put your forehead against your knees and lean forward, all the while pulling on your heels. It's hard to explain.

It looks like this:

And, as you can read, it's really good for you. Anyway, somehow, today, I got a better stretch and I actually felt my spine stretch from the top to the middle and all the way to the bottom. It felt really, really good. Going to class was worth it just for that 10 seconds of stretch!

What else was good today? You have no idea how good it feels for me to actually be able to lean forward, wrap two fingers around each big toe and look up into the mirror with my legs straight. I've been working on this for quite a while but have made literally inches of progress in my 6 sessions of Bikram Yoga. I don't know when I heard - it may have been sometime this week, or at some other time - that forward bends allow for letting go of the past. I can tell you that being able to do a forward bend has almost always been difficult for me. It feels good now. I wonder what part of my past I'm finally letting go of. . .

I am consciously choosing to treat the class like a meditation and not get "scattered" in my head or check out. I do drift. A lot. And then I gently bring myself back when I realize I'm not really there. It's much easier to do the class on auto pilot, or half-consciously. And, I get that there is much to learn from choosing to be present every minute.

Am I sore? Not really. I am so impressed with how quickly my body recovers! What amazing and adaptable things our bodies are. If you think you can't change your body, you are mistaken. You can. As Shaun says, don't think about it, just fall in. If you think about it, you'll resist.

What do you do to keep your body strong? Walk, Slog, Jog, Run? Yoga, Dance, Swim, Bike?
I am sending you encouragement.

Onward. . .

Another Day of Hot Yoga! Day 5. . .

2010-05-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Day 5

This has been an interesting day. It started extremely early. . . 5 a.m. - I woke up and was just plain awake. I laid there and thought I might go back to sleep, but no, I was awake. So I got up.

And before I knew it, I was almost late for Yoga!

And then, before I knew it, I almost missed the Bus to Work!

And then. . . you get the picture.

The day went by really really fast. Somehow, my perception of time shifted. It is still shifted. I went to an art show with a couple of friends from work at 5:00 tonight and then suddenly it was 8:00! Weird. I think it's possible that I've slowed down. (There are those among my friends who will be shocked!) Or maybe everything around me really has speeded up. . .

Yoga was great this morning - lead by Shaun (Sarge). He's awesome. He talked a lot about what the poses do for your body. There is one pose, where you lie on your back and pull your knee up and I've always though it was weird because it didn't really seem to be stretching anything much and guess what? When you do that series of poses (right knee, left knee, both knees) you are actually massaging your colon! Makes sense.

He also talked about how important Shavasana is. Many of the Bikram poses create a tourniquet, literally cutting off the blood supply to different parts of the body. Then, when you lay down in Shavasana "corpse pose" the fresh blood rushes back in. The total stop is as important as the pose. I'm sure all the instructors have been talking about this stuff all along. Today I could hear more of it.

He also said that he only sleeps about 4 hours a night and doesn't really eat much food. He gets his energy from yoga. I am starting to feel it. I am also starting to get in touch with whether I am hungry or not and I'm eating less.

I felt good all day until I was on my way back from picking up my Bay to Breakers race packet. I was thirsty and didn't have my water with me. By the time I got back to work I had a headache coming on big time. I took a tylenol. By the way, I didn't take any pain killers of any kind yesterday. I consider that an accomplishment. Wouldn't have needed to take any today if I'd have had my water with me.

I am not sore tonight, which is surprising. My lower back was sore after class today, but it's not now.

Planning to go to class early tomorrow and then take Sunday off since I'm slogging the race with some friends from Boise. Who knows? Maybe I'll pickup a class late afternoon if I have any energy left.

Watch for me at the race - say "Hi!" - I'll be the woman with the recycle symbol in a circle on her chest - I am "Sustainability Girl"!

Onward. . .

Hot Yoga at Bikram Seacliff! Day 4

2010-05-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

See that pose? I fall over when I do that pose. . . Not Pretty.

Ok, so my arms feel like they are going to fall off. I guess it's more my shoulders than my arms. They are pretty sore and just plain weak. I am a little sore all over, actually. Nothing serious, just aware of it all the time.

The class was good today. Strenuous. It was lead by Susanne, who also taught my 2nd day. I was thinking "Oh, I'll just take it easy today" but it's impossible not to get sucked in by the encouragement so I ended up working really hard again. . . that and I looked in the mirror yesterday. I have little muscles showing below my ribcage along the sides of my belly. (big smile goes here). How could that be after only 3 days?! Is it my imagination? Nope. I saw them again this morning.

My balance is still not great, but it is getting better. I actually did stick pose (bended stick pose?) on both sides without falling out. Yeah! There were two new girls in front and off to the right of me. Every time I lost my balance, they did, too. I wanted to tell them to ignore me!

Funny, the 1st pose is a breathing pose that uses the arms and neck. My arms were burning long before we were done! This is the 1st day that this has happened. Something was definitely different.

I didn't go to bed earlier last night like I said I would. In fact, I probably didn't really fall asleep until almost 11. Surprisingly, I feel fine. Actually more clear-headed than yesterday. We'll see how I am around 2:30 when my energy seems to slowly grind to a halt. Is it my lunch? I'm not sure.

I'm drinking less water both in and out of class. I talked to a woman in the dressing room who has been doing this for years and she said that when she started she was encouraged to not drink during class because the body has to process the water. Makes sense, I suppose. I don't think I'd be able to get through a whole class without at least a few sips, but we'll see.

There was something that Sarge said yesterday that stuck with me. He said it was OK to feel a little dizzy during the poses and to just go with it. This caused a shift in perception for me. Dizzy = Panic in my world. It's a whole new thing to feel dizzy and just notice it and let it go.

Suzanne said today that Bikram yoga was invented to get Yogis ready for meditation. I'd like to try that. Just doing the yoga and then sitting in meditation. I feel "meditative" when I'm done with class. My being wants to move slowly and purposefully, which is at odds with "Shower and Get On the Bus!" I do enjoy the walk from Divisidaro to my office.Lots to look at with heightened awareness.

Breakfast was a tuna sandwich. Lunch was bulgar wheat salad with lots of little veggies cut up in it and a piece of apple cake - think big pieces of apples, raisins and dark cake. I get that a banana or apple would have been better for me. The cake was delicious. I have an orange in my bag that I'll eat later.

2:25 - I think I may have pulled a ligament in my left upper thigh. At one point during class it hurt, but felt more like a muscle cramp. I just let it relax for a minute and it felt better. Now when I stand up from my chair, I can feel it again.

3:45 - Ate half an orange. It was so sour that I couldn't finish it. Too much like torture.

5:00 - Riding my bike home. Tired of looking at it in my office.

6:30 - Made garlic pasta for dinner. Was definitely hungry! Didn't overeat.

7:40 - Surprising that riding my bike home wasn't that big of a deal. I expected to be exhausted. I'm fine. I do have some sore spots on my body, though. Mostly tendons and ligaments. Interesting.

My arms and shoulders feel better this evening. This is good.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Onward. . .

Day 3! Hot Yoga in San Francisco!

2010-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hot Yoga! - Day 3!

Tonight I am going to bed earlier. It's hard to wake up at 6. I am dreaming when the alarm goes off and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open. I literally hit the snooze and woke up from a dream again five minutes later. I either need to go to bed earlier or wake up a little later.

Made it to class a bit early. It felt really good to go into the warm room and lay down on my towel-covered mat. I love to be warm. As those closest to me know, I prefer heat to cold. I am often referred to as being "like a lizard". I need a heat source (a warm rock or direct sunlight both work) in order to be warm.

Today's instructor was male. He didn't tell us his name. Today's session was like yoga boot camp, so we'll just call him Sarge. I'm not complaining. I really pushed myself (and he pushed us all) this morning and it felt great. My balance is still crap, but Sarge offered a bit of advice that worked. If I concentrate on my straight leg being planted like a lamp post - literally meditate on it and look at it in the mirror, I can catch a moment of stillness and it's if time stops, and I feel my body in the pose, and I hear the encouragement, and I go deeper. It's very sensuous when it works. And then I fall out and stumble around.

Sarge kept saying that we were playing it safe and to push ourselves and that our minds were holding us back. So, during tree pose, I did more of the pose than before. Yesterday I watched as people leaned forward, put their fingers on the floor and then sat, bringing their hands to prayer position. I thought "That looks Painful". I did it today, except for the last balancing act, because Sarge was saying that none of us were taking chances, and it was a hell of a lot easier than standing there trying to balance and keep my opposite foot stuck to the front of my leg! I'll be doing that pose more completely again tomorrow.

Another cool thing that happened - during bow pose, I actually felt my hip bones against the floor. Improvement.

I was a little cotton-headed after class. I made a half of an avocado sandwich at the bus stop and ate it while I waited for the bus. Wished I had salt. Made it to work 5 minutes later than I would have liked to. Made and ate another half sandwich with salt. Yummy.

11:04 - Definitely a headache coming on. I've consumed 32 ounces of water so far today. Taking a Tylenol - with more water. Maybe the Heed isn't the answer. Maybe I was just being a wimp yesterday.

12:00 - Not starving today, but hungry. Brown rice salad and a banana. Tasty and no processed sugar!

12:40 - Tired. Could literally lay down on the floor and go to sleep. . . hopefully green tea will help.

1:20 - Green tea helped a tiny bit. . .

4:30 - Went to a meeting at 3:00 - about 3:15 I could feel my face was flushed. It stayed hot the whole meeting and when I went and looked in the mirror, sure enough, it was red. Not terribly red, but red like a mild sunburn. Interesting. Not very pretty, but interesting.

Left work on time. Mr. Green took me out to the Kabuki for a glass of wine and a bowl of shared crab ramen. Yum. Still thinking that I should go to bed earlier. Or maybe I just need to get up earlier. . .

The yoga was great this morning. I am a little sore. My shoulder muscles are sore if I push on them (so don't push on them) and I can feel my thighs and mid-back.

I'm surprised by how hard I can work in the moment and how not-sore I am later in the day. The body has an amazing ability to recover. So, tomorrow, as Sarge says, No Fear!

Definitely going again in the morning.

Hot Yoga! Day 2

2010-05-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of Hot Yoga at Bikram Yoga Seacliff, San Francisco.

I slept well last night. Woke up at 6 with the alarm. I was a little tired, but not bad.

Getting ready to go to class is complicated. I have to take everything I need to end up at work dressed and groomed appropriately. Managed quite well today.

Made it to class early, but not as crazy early as yesterday. There was already a class in session. It started at 6:00 a.m. - the same time I got out of bed - Who ARE Those Bendy People?!

Anyway, class was great today.

I realized, after about 10 minutes, that I could actually hear the instructor. Yesterday there was so much internal noise between the voice in my head and breathing and my body, that I couldn't hear a thing. Today, I could hear everything. Consequently, I was able to concentrate more on the poses and really stretch. It felt good. Except for the falling-over part. The first balancing pose was a total joke. I was the example of "uncenteredness". I'm sure other people found it hard to balance with me falling all over the place. It did get a little better as the poses went on. There is hope.

I was only slightly light-headed at the end. I think this has to do with two things.

First, I drank a cup of decaf chai tea with a large spoon of honey in it when I got up this morning. There is still a tiny bit of caffeine in decaf tea and the honey served as a little "food" in my system without adding any solids. One is not supposed to eat for two hours before yoga for many good reasons. Stomach cramps are no fun and, trust me, you don't want to be the one who rips one during downward dog and belches every time you stand up. I'm not eating breakfast until after class.

Second, I put a full scoop of Heed in my water bottle this morning. Heed is an electrolyte powder by Hammer Nutrition. Cyclists use it. It doesn't have any of the nasty ingredients that Gatorade has - no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), no artificial colors. It doesn't taste like much, it's sweetened with stevia and xylitol, and it keeps your electrolytes in balance while you work out. It's great on really long or really strenuous bike rides. Worked perfect for intense yoga.

We spend a lot of time looking at the ceiling. It's made of a beautiful deep red cloth that looks like quilted silk. It's quite beautiful, actually.

9:45 - On the bus. Munching stems of broccoli from a zip-lock bag (it was what was easy to grab out of the fridge). Not starving, but definitely hungry. Had an interesting conversation with an Asian woman about food. She wanted to know if my broccoli was raw or cooked and if I eat salad dressing. We talked about making dressing from scratch. And there was this baby on the bus! A blond girl. Not more than 14 months old. She made eye contact and said "Hi!" and waved to Everyone on the bus - one person at a time! It was Great! Wow! What will She BE when she grows up?! Maybe her whole generation is that outgoing - what a change That would bring! She was so Present. Very Cool.

10:15 - At work. Feeling good. Neck is a little stiff. Ate the salad that I brought from home - various lettuces, raisins, some shaved parm. No dressing.

11:30 - Hip Flexers! Wow. They totally seized up while I was sitting at my desk. Makes walking to get a copy a whole new adventure! And suddenly I am aware of my posture. I can hear my mother reminding me to stand up straight, so I do.

12:05 - Lunch. Brown rice mushroom salad - Fabulous. Flan for dessert. Yes, I know I should eat fruit instead and get totally away from the white sugar. Not today. Sorry. The rest of the broccoli stems. Am aware of my neck and upper back. Feels kind of good, actually.

2:54 - Suddenly tired. Thirsty. Drinking lots of water. Slight headache, so I'm taking an aspirin.

3: 59 - Better. Maybe I just needed some human interaction. Went to a meeting. Hip flexers are working without pain. This is good.

5:00 - Now I get to decide whether I want to ride my bike home or not. How much exercise is too much exercise? The wind actually isn't blowing 20 miles an hour for a change. It's sunny outside. I think I'll ride home. Leisurely. Or maybe I'll take the bus. . .

9:31 - Stayed late at work and took the bus home. Stole a piece of string cheese out of the work fridge - will have to replace it. Got here around 8. Made dinner with Mr. Green and ate (cauliflower pasta). Ate too much. Still learning to not overeat. Crazy how we are programed to "pig-out" when food tastes good. Also, why eat at 8:45 p.m.? There's really no reason to. I would have been fine with a piece of fruit or some veggies. I eat and learn. . .

I'm a little sore this evening - back, legs and the muscles along the sides of my neck (weird). It will be interesting to see how I feel in the morning.

Onward to Day 3!

Hot Yoga!

2010-05-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

I bought 20 sessions of Birkram Yoga at Birkram Yoga Seacliff from Groupon for $20. What a deal!

If you don't know Groupon, you should check it out and sign up. It's a great way to get deep discounts on fun experiences around The City! I've purchased manicure/pedicures, belly dance classes, restaurant discounts and more.

Back to the Yoga. I decided, after reading the info on the Birkram Yoga Seacliff site, to do the 20 classes basically in a row. I am going to take next Sunday off to participate in the Bay to Breakers run. I think a seven mile run and 90 minutes of yoga would be a bit much. Besides, I want to hang out in my Sustainability Girl super hero costume as long as possible! I am leaving myself the possibility of two other days off, so, when I'm finished, I will have completed 20 yoga sessions in 23 days.

Here goes. . .

Day 1
I arrived way too early to the center this morning. I knew there would be paperwork and I wanted to have plenty of time to ask questions if I had any. One never knows what traffic is going to be like, but at 6:55 a.m. it was an easy drive from the Outer Sunset to Seacliff. The class started at 7:45 a.m. and I was set to go by 7:15. The woman at the desk (who's name I don't remember, although it started with a T and was sort of like mine. Tanya? Tamaya? - I hate it that I can't remember names!) was eating a banana when I walked in. She was friendly and helpful and Real, which I appreciate.

The space is comfortable and appealing. There are benches and a fountain in the front, cubby holes in the hallway to hold belongings and restrooms in the back. It is all clean. The restroom/dressing room area is good-sized and has a shower (yea!). I didn't know if there would be a shower and my plan was to bathe in the sink at work, if not, so I was thrilled to see that there was one.

After I was all signed in and oriented, I sat and flipped through a magazine which had an interesting article about the fight against CODEX. If you don't know about Codex Alimentarius, inform yourself. If you want to continue to have real food and real supplements in the future, you will want to pay attention to the madness that is Codex.

Soon people with yoga mats started showing up. After three or four people went into the back, I went back and took my shoes and socks off, stuffed my bag into a cubby hole and sat on a bench outside the room. I had a great conversation with a woman who also had purchased 20 sessions. She was on day 12 and said that she loved it and was totally hooked. She encouraged me to come back tomorrow no matter how I felt after class. I told her that was my plan.

When I entered the room, it reminded me of a sauna. A wall of warm air hit me and I had to adjust my breathing a little to accommodate the heat. It is supposed to be 105 degrees and I'm pretty sure it was over 100 at that point. The room was dimly lit. I threw my mat out in what I hoped was the back of the room (opposite the mirrored wall) and watched others put their towel on top of their mat and lay down. I followed suit.

As it turned out, the instructor was the same person who helped me at the counter. She was great. She encouraged me and praised me when I managed to do a pose fully. It was not easy. There are a lot of balancing poses and my balance sucks. Especially early in the day. I learned some new poses and really enjoyed being in the heat for about the 1st hour of class.

Right before we moved to floor work I started to get light-headed. I drank a bunch of water and kept going. I finished the class feeling light headed and a bit dizzy. I moved out of the room and into the dressing area slowly, got the avocado I brought out of my bag and ate a few bites of it.

When I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror my face was bright red! Yikes! I dressed and mashed the rest of the avocado between two pieces of bread. Wished I had some salt. They even have a blow dryer which means I ended up looking a lot better than I thought I would today. That makes me happy. Off to the bus. Arrived at work later than I wanted. Will probably have to do the afternoon class tomorrow. Showing up at 10 all week isn't going to fly.

10:00 - I wouldn't call this state light-headed. It's more like head-stuffed-with-cotton. Feels weird. I'm sure it will pass. Drinking lots of water. Have finished my 1st 32 ounces and refilled already.

12:04 - Must Eat Now. I'm starving. It's pouring rain outside and I get to go down the block to the cash machine before I can go next door and buy lunch. We have a fabulous cafe next door that has all kinds of fresh veggie salads all the time. Head is starting to ache a little. I'm taking a Tylenol. Not a good idea to let it go, as I could end up with a migraine. . .

12:30 - Lunch is served - Salmon Salad "Protein good" and a banana. I read on the Birkram site that light-headedness and nausea is caused by lack of potassium and salt. I sprinkled sea salt on my salad, wolfed it down and then ate the banana. Felt better in about 10 minutes. Amazing.

2:30 - Fading. Could literally put my head on my desk and sleep. Am going to have a cup of green tea instead. Co-worker is going next door to get a snack. I go with her and end up eating a piece of honey cake. This is one of my favorite treats and it instantly gives me a sugar high. Not a good idea. Feel nauseous. Blah.

3:19 - Head is starting to ache a little. Feeling rather tired. Think I'll take an aspirin and a multi-vitamin and see how that is. Funny how the headache goes away so quickly when I take a pain killer. I get that that's what they are for, but wow. Thought the green tea would help (caffeine) but it didn't really. Tasted good, though.

3:30 - Feeling rather normal now. Finally. I've consumed 64 ounces of water. . . think I'll back off on the water a little at this point.

7:24 - Ran errands after work. Stopped at Nirvana for lettuce wraps and a pink cucumber. Didn't need the alcohol or the cookie from Hot Cookie for dessert, but they were good! Probably a better food day tomorrow.

Overall - made it through. Didn't fall asleep at my desk. Feel great right now. Will probably sleep well. Ready to hit it again in the morning. . . one drawback - There are going to be a lot of dirty towels and clothes. Even though I hung my shorts & bra top on the back of my door all day at work, they were still soggy. Gross.

I am not the least bit sore and I'm darned happy about it. This is good.

Helping Haiti

2010-01-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

Have you donated to Haiti?

Or, like me, do you have concerns about where the money really goes? I know how non-profit works. I have worked in the non-profit industry for a long time. I enjoy it and it allows me to feel good about what I do at the end of the day. The non-profits I have worked for are careful with their money, spending as little as possible on admin and as much as possible on their mission.

I guess my issue with supporting non-profits that suddenly spring up when there is an emergency in a far away land is I don't know how careful they will be. And, with a place like Haiti, which doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation, I'm concerned that my donation may end up lining the pockets of someone who doesn't need it at all. I have made a donation to Haiti and I am confident that it will be used to buy much-needed food.

On Facebook I am friends with one person from Haiti. His name is Vital Max Robert. He "friended" me some time ago and, since he was a friend of a good friend of mine, Clay Kilgore, I approved him. Last Sunday, while I was on facebook, Vital sent me a direct message. I asked how things were going and, in his fairly understandable English, he let me know that there are a a lot of children who are without parents because they lost them in the earthquake. He also let me know that there isn't enough food, water or medical care where he is and that he is taking care of five of these children himself. His internet service was spotty and I lost him a couple of time over the course of the conversation. The full transcript of our conversation is at the end of this email.

Clay Kilgore is an amazing man who cares deeply about Haiti. He started a non-profit in 2007 to empower Haitian people through partnership, helping them help themselves, called Kledev, Empowering Economic Development in Haiti. He has spent time there and developed a network of people, through friendship, empowerment and the actions of his non-profit, who he can depend upon to do what they say they will do. They have integrity and so does Clay. Please do google for more information and read the website and blog. Also, see Clay's cause facebook page.

Here is the mission of Clay's non-profit: "Kledev works with people in Haiti to envision, nurture and empower a brighter, more prosperous future".

I contacted Clay to see what $100 would do for the community he works with in Haiti. Here is what he told me:

I found out that the price of a "small bag" of rice (approx 70 servings) has a street price today of approx 45 dollars US. If a person still has a pot, and a way to make fire (not a given), then we could say that a portion of plain rice for one person is currently about 75¢ under current conditions. The food aid that is promised is getting to about 250,000 people, leaving the other 1.75 - 2 million to fend for themselves.

In other words, if I donate $50 through his website, by mid-week Vital and the five children he is supporting will be able to eat two portions of rice for a week, or one portion of rice for 14 days. I get that that isn't really much, but it's a start. And it's as close to direct help as I can provide. It is my hope that my donation will provide a "bridge" between now and the time other aid arrives.

It's been more than 2 weeks since the earthquake. People can't go without food. They will start starving to death before long. And the children will die first. Donations through kledev.com are passed on quickly - at 100% of the donation minus bank transfer fees - Paypal is currently waving their fees for kledev.com.

I have donated $50 today. It was easy and I can afford it.

What can you afford to donate?

My 47th birthday is Monday.

My birthday wish is that you will send a donation to Haiti through Clay's organization.

Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.

Let's help some people in Haiti.

Here is the direct message transcript from last Sunday:

Vital
Hi Miss Tamara
this is Vital max Robert haiti
8:48am

Tamara
hi Vital. How are things there?
8:49am

Vital
o we are ther , but we live in the streets
8:49am

Tamara
I am so sorry about what has happened in your country.
8:50am

Vital
but we need foods ,water and medical aid
ok thanks
8:50am

Tamara
I know you do. I understand things are coming in slowly. Are you safe?
8:51am

Vital
so we need aid for some family in haiti specially the kids of CCEMY
there are much small kids that they haven't mother and fathers actually
the y are died
8:53am

Tamara
That's so sad. What will they do? Will they be adopted by other families?
8:53am

Vital
yes i need to find people may adopted, but now i can't
find people
8:54am

Tamara
Are you getting enough to eat? are they? It seems (from here) that there is difficulty getting supplies distributed.
9:06am

Vital
not now we haven't posibilities to help hem
them
9:06am

Tamara
Clay is collecting money, isn't he? Has he sent some?
9:07am

Vital
yes he sent some the last week
you can contact him for you support
9:07am

Tamara
I am so glad. I will encourage my friends to give to Clay's organization and I will give something myself.
9:10am

Vital
ok ou can use too the money gram for you help
and too i invite you help us in Haiti to find people may adopted the kids with families
specially the small coming to have one one month
9:12am

Tamara
I will put a message out to my friends. I wish you well, Vital. I hope things improve soon.
9:14am

Vital
ok for your info , please you can contact Clay kilgore and me at vitalmaxrobert2@hotmail.com or 00118451506
9:16am

Tamara
Thank you Vital. What did the money that Clay sent last week provide for you?
9:17am

Vital
just to help my family
to western-union
but now we can use money gram
to help the people
9:18am

Tamara
What were you able to buy with the money? Were you able to buy food or water?
9:19am

Vital
yes foods, water and milk
for the small kids
9:19am

Tamara
Great. Are they your children? How many do you have?
9:23am

Vital
good thanks to God and i have only one soon
9:24am

Tamara
How many small children are you feeding or taking care of?
9:25am

Vital
for now 5 kids
9:25am

Tamara
They are lucky to have you helping them.
9:27am

Vital
for me i assist them with the small money that i have, because Clay sent and Susan came to sent
so the things are very expensives here
9:31am

Tamara
What could you buy with $100?
9:32am

Vital
i will buy the milk and gerber for the small kids
9:35am

P.S. When I picked pictures for this blog, I thought about posting pictures of the aftermath of the quake. Then I decided that we've all seen enough of those pictures, so I chose to post beautiful pictures instead. Have a great day.

It Does a Body Good

2010-01-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Yoga. What comes to mind? Skinny people twisted up like pretzels? An old man with a beard sitting cross-legged on a mountain top? Or are you already a fan and it brings to mind peace and tranquility?

I've done yoga, and enjoyed the benefits, off and on for years. I can't really say that I have a "practice" because I haven't done it consistently. In November I woke up one day and I was 8 pounds heavier. Even though I was riding my bike to work! What gives?! Being a "foodie" was getting out of control. . . obviously, I was going to have to cut back. My intuition was screaming "Where is your yoga DVD?!" and I was telling it "In the damned storage unit in Idaho!"

I hate buying things twice. It just doesn't work for me. So far, and it's been a year and a half, I haven't replaced anything that I already own. I do carry strange things home in my suitcase when I go to visit. Last trip I brought home a blender, some glass baking pans and a casserole dish. What I didn't bring home was my yoga DVD. I couldn't find it. So, out of desperation, I signed on to Amazon to buy another copy. And, guess what?! It wasn't available! There was one used one available for $45. Wow! Who Knew?! Apparently my favorite yoga DVD is everyone else's, too. . .

It is a good one. It's called Yoga Mind and Body and it "stars" Ali McGraw. She isn't the teacher, but just one of the students. It's shot on these beautiful white sand dunes, the cinematography is really well done, the participants are of all ages, including this beautiful woman who must be in her 70's, and, the workout is a bit advanced, but great!

So December arrived and I wasn't any thinner and my little inner voice was still screaming "Yoga!". There was a DVD called "Yoga for Inflexible People" in Mr. Green's DVD rack. He swears he didn't buy it and I'm pretty sure I didn't. A gift from the Yoga Gods? I popped it into the DVD player with high hopes. Unfortunately, it wasn't the yoga for me. It requires props. Which, if your body is inflexible, makes sense. All you need is a folding chair, a couple of blocks, a strap and a couple of blankets. I improvised. Not so good. It is an ingenious format, though. There are tons of workouts and options (it says over 35 on the cover) and it would be a great place for someone who has never done yoga and stopped stretching long ago. Props aren't that expensive if they are the doorway to being able to touch your toes.

Still no yoga. I was sitting at my desk on December 22nd and a little lightbulb went off in my head. We had just received a donation of a two week pass to a place called Yogaworks for an upcoming silent auction and my assistant had raved about how much her husband loved their classes. I got online to see where they were located and they had an on-line store! With yoga DVDs! I called their location that is literally two blocks from my office, and sure enough, they had the DVDs in stock!

I went by on my way to the bus and, after reading the info on the boxes, I bought All Three DVDs. They were not expensive. What a great Christmas present to myself!

There are no props required. The first DVD, called Beginners AM/PM, promised a workout to help me wake up and another to calm me before I go to sleep and a 45 minute beginner basics routine. The second, called Fit Abs, promised a strong core, lose inches and lean abs. Couldn't pass that up! The third, called Body Slim, offered to sculpt lean muscle, increase energy and burn fat. . . just what I was looking for.

Here's the truth of it. . .

Since December 26th I have done the beginner routine five times. I've done the PM routine three times, the AM routine once and the Fit Abs routine once (made me too sore, so back to the beginner routine). It only took two sessions for me to feel completely better in my body. I am amazed.

Yoga makes me feel mentally "clear". It creates a calmness that lasts through the day. My body felt stronger right away. Literally after two sessions. I'm still a little sore and am still doing the beginner routine, but intend to move on to the other routines soon.

And, I've lost five pounds. No Kidding.

Yoga. It Does a Body Good.

What are you doing for your body? For your health? Leave a comment.

Precycle! The "Stop & Think" method of Saving the Planet.

2009-12-13T12:34:00.001-08:00

Never heard of Precycling? Well it's easy and you are probably already doing it. . . Precycling is remembering, before you buy, to consider what's going to be left when you are done with the product and choosing to purchase the least amount of packaging possible. It might mean buying a huge container of shampoo or dish-soap instead of 4 or 5 smaller ones over time. Or, it might mean taking the 30 minutes to cancel all that junk mail. It could also mean purchasing your honey "bulk" and putting it in your own container or buying a product in a recyclable or reusable container rather than one wrapped in plastic, or choosing to forgo the plastic bag for your onions.

Speaking of plastic. I have decided to follow a "no plastic for Christmas" policy. This means that I will not be giving gifts made of plastic. Not even gift cards. I get that this is much easier for me than for someone with small children. But not impossible, I hope.

Here's another precycle idea: Read magazines and books online. I used to get a magazine. I actually cancelled it because I didn't like throwing into the recycle bin when I was done with it. I don't read it online, either. Clearly, I don't really miss it. I have to confess that I don't enjoy reading the newspaper online. I generally will only read the breaking news. It makes me wonder if my attention span is getting shorter. . . and, I don't have, or want, a Kindle.

I like to hold a book. I like to turn the pages. I also like the way they smell. . . especially in the stacks at the library! I am committed to using the library. I have a cute brightly colored library card designed by a local preschooler named Chloe. I check out books for me and for Mr. Green from the tiny branch library across from my place of work. We have four out right now. I have two more on order. I use the online reservation system and it's easy. And I like giving them back.

And, of course, remembering your re-usable shopping bags is a big part of precycling. I am getting better at it, although I'm far from perfect. I look a little bit like a bag lady most of the time. And I still turn up without the damn things 30% of the time. Mr. Green finds it just a bit annoying when we walk out of our local co-op with both our arms full because I forgot to bring a bag and refuse to take another one home.

Shopping at the farmer's market is another way to pre-cycle. Put all that fresh produce right into your re-usable bags and Voila! no packaging! Just another reason to Buy Local.

Precycle! It's Fun & Easy! Pause and consider the planet before you buy.

What do you do to save the planet? Leave your suggestions!

My Carbon Offset Choice

2009-11-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

Remember back in October when I wrote about Saving the Planet? I said I would find a local organization that I could donate to in order to offset our annual CO2 emissions from our car, house and air travel.

Well, I've found the one. The Marin Carbon Project. I don't pretend to understand the science, so I won't try to explain what they plan to do in anything more than the most basic terms. They have figured out a way to sequester carbon in the soil and are working with land owners to do just that. Here is the big explanation of the project.

I used the carbon offset calculator at Terra Pass to determine my carbon output (carbon debt) for the year.

Our car put 12,227 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Our house put 11,483 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Our airline trips (5 round trips in all) put 2,569 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.

According to the calculator, I can donate $160.65 to a carbon offsetting project and be carbon neutral. Although I don't believe this makes my life carbon neutral, or lets me off the hook. I do like the idea of some sort of reparation for my consumption of resources and CO2 output.

I don't even know if the Marin Carbon Project will take my donation. But I do know how to contact them and I will. I learned about them from my friend Tara, owner of Tara Firma Farms. She has met the leaders of the project and believes in what they are doing enough that she may allow them do test plots on her land.

I'll be purchasing a little Christmas present for myself. And it won't be made of plastic.

What will you do this month to work toward your sustainable future?

Do something. Anything.

It's Easy & Fun!

Grow Your Own!

2009-11-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

We did it! We planted a winter garden. The seeds have been in the ground for two weeks tomorrow and there are a lot of seedlings pushing up through the soil.

Back in September Mr. Green and I had a conversation with our farmer friend Elijah from Tara Firma Farms about how we could make our garden more productive. He offered to take a look at our space. One beautiful Sunday in early October Elijah came to the city and saw our garden. He loved it! He said it was enough space to feed 20 people!

Yikes! Who knew?

He suggested that we orient the whole thing differently to waste less space and said we needed soil amendments. Our poor plants were being choked by the sand. He said, "Find a friend who has cow manure and get a lot of it." Now, I have friends who have, or can get, cow manure. Lots of them. They all live in Idaho. Shipping really isn't an option.

Craigslist is the next best thing to someone you know who has what you need. I signed on later that evening and found a listing for "aged organic horse manure" for fifty cents a bag. . . fifty cents a bag? That fits right into my budget. I sent an email to Victoria's Fashion Stables ordering up six bags and "Voila!" they would be left outside the gate, on the appropriate day, just for me.

The soil was a different story. Tons of "dirt" or "fill dirt" available. . . immediate concerns about contamination. . . I don't want to sully our clean growing space. We were very careful in the spring to keep it "organic". So. . . I invested in six bags of organic planting mixture from Sloat Garden Center. At eight-something a bag, it was a bit much, but worth it, I hope.

We now were driving around with six fragrant bags of horse manure in the back of the truck and six bags of soil stacked in our garage. I was looking forward to the next weekend!

Earlier in the season, about a week after we had pretty much given up on our summer garden - having pulled the tomatoes, and harvested every bit of produce except the carrots and artichokes, it rained. I was ignoring the garden at that point. Nothing new going on. We were waiting for advice.

And suddenly, there was oxalis! We hadn't really seen any since we sifted all the sand and took out all the bulbs in the spring. It wasn't as bad as it was last fall, but it definitely was making itself known. We weeded. The damn stuff is impossible to pull up completely. It breaks off so easily and then comes right back. If it flowers and goes to seed, it's everywhere. We weeded some more.

The morning of beginning the winter gardening, we weeded. . . then the fun began.

We drug and carried the six bags of manure and six bags of mulch through the 1st floor hallway into the back. Then we stripped the earth of everything except the two artichoke plants. We turned it all over once with a shovel. I don't know where the eight bags of mulch from last spring went, but the soil was very sandy.

We poured out two bags of poo and two bags of mulch, mixed it up with the fork and shoveled it out onto the garden. We did this three more times.

It may not seem like a lot of work reading it, but it was. The garden is mostly in the shade in the winter because it's on the north side of our three story building. This was a good thing that sunny day. After the "amendments" were evenly spread, we turned the soil over again. Twice.

Then we raked a path down the middle, leaving a large bed on each side, and lined the path with some of the bags that the manure came in.

Mr. Green mixed up some of his magic "adobe" to pack on the sides of the beds - this combo of sand, mulch, compost and water mixed to create mud, we discovered, keeps the dirt contained and doesn't allow run-off, creating our poor-man's version of raised beds.

By this time it was late in the day and cooling off quickly. I was exhausted but happy to have the garden ready to plant.

On Sunday we planted.

peas peas

artichokes carrots

turnips lettuce

radishes spinach

beets garlic

broccoli cauliflower

cabbage

And garlic planted along the edges of the garden about every two feet to keep the bugs out. But not by the peas. Peas and garlic are not friends. The way I planted (as listed above) is companion planting. all these plants like their neighbors and, because they do, we are supposed to get a higher yield.

I have never companion planted before. I'm excited to see if it works. I found a handy dandy chart on a site called Gardens Ablaze. Just a matter of plotting it out once I knew which plants are friendly with which.

Again, another exhausting day, but fun work. We planted, watered the seed, cleaned up the mess, hung the tools and called it a day well spent.

I tagged each area that I planted with the date and what is growing. Mr. Green made worm tea and sprayed the whole thing the next day.

At this point, two weeks later, we have a bounty of seedlings. The turnips and radishes are up and crankin'. Almost everything is popping through except the carrots, beets and garlic. . . I'm sure they will be up by the end of the week. Awesome!

I doubt that we'll be feeding twenty people, but there will definitely be food to share. Assuming that we don't end up sharing it with the snails and bugs. . . we have plans for them if they show up. . .

We do this because we can. I like growing my own food. Between the farmers' market and our garden, we keep it local most of the time, supplementing with a trip to the co-op or regular grocery a couple of times a month.

I like to think that more and more of us are on the path to sustainable living. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it.

I'm sure you are, too.

Do you grown your own? Would love to hear about your winter (or summer) garden!

350 - About Climate Change

2009-10-23T06:34:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is an important day.

It is the International Day of Climate Action.

One man, Bill McKibben, came up with the idea of uniting the world around reducing carbon emissions to actually cause climate change. And now, there will be 4641 different actions taken in 177 different countries around the world.

I'm impressed.

Here is the mission statement from the 350.org website:n (Written Version)

350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis--the solutions that science and justice demand.

Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

Our focus is on the number 350--as in parts per million, the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. But 350 is more than a number--it's a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.

To tackle climate change we need to move quickly, and we need to act in unison—and 2009 will be an absolutely crucial year. This December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark to craft a new global treaty on cutting emissions. The problem is, the treaty currently on the table doesn't meet the severity of the climate crisis—it doesn't pass the 350 test.

In order to unite the public, media, and our political leaders behind the 350 goal, we're harnessing the power of the internet to coordinate a planetary day of action on October 24, 2009. We hope to have actions at hundreds of iconic places around the world - from the Taj Mahal to the Great Barrier Reef to your community - and clear message to world leaders: the solutions to climate change must be equitable, they must be grounded in science, and they must meet the scale of the crisis.

If an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to the latest climate science, we can start the global transformation we so desperately need.

You, too, can Take Action!

10 Things You Can Do

You can also participate in a 350 Action near you. Go to the 350.0rg website and see what is happening in your neck of the woods. You might be surprised.

A friend of mine, Jay Trainer and his organization Artful Change are holding a free carbon neutral on-line funndraiser concert tomorrow to raise awareness and funds for San Francisco based environmental causes.

This is just one example of thousands.

I'm going to ride my bike to work, again, today.

What will you do?

Saving the Planet

2009-10-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

I saw the premiere of "The Age of Stupid" here in SF. We went to a theater that had a live feed to the premiere in NY. This is the same little bit of technology that allows people to see live opera from the Met in New York in their local theater. This technology is amazing to me. One could, in theory, link the world through local theaters to all see the same broadcast at the same time. Very 1984. I digress.

The movie is set in the future, post disaster, after we have done nothing but talk about global warming. It is a disturbing film that follows the stories of six people living now and their struggles with the global warming question. Here is a review of the movie, written by Mr. Green and picked up by a blogger named piece 2.0: http://bit.ly/14JYeW

The movie left me feeling overwhelmed and wondering what I could possibly do to stop being a contributor to the problem. How do we really buy out of the oil pipeline? Like Really. Without sacrificing things that are important to us and without it becoming some sort of weird obsession.

I've been mulling this over for a while now. I've decided that, as I explore the options for personal sustainability, I'll share them here. I already do quite a few things to make my earth footprint smaller. I ride my bike, garden, sort my trash, eat local food, dine in restaurants who seek out local ingredients, turn the light switch off, keep the heat at 68 degrees and I don't buy a lot of stuff.

We'll start with one of those. . . I bike to work at least 3 days a week, weather permitting. I take the bus home more often than not.

This does not mean that I'm never in the car. Mr. Green drives me to work probably once a week, on average, depending upon what I'm doing. Sometimes I need to run errands for myself or work. Sometimes I just don't want to spend an hour on the bus. Take today, for example. It's pouring rain. Mr. Green will be driving me. Will he drive me home? Possibly. I'll decide later this afternoon.

How inconvenienced am I willing to be? That's the real question, isn't it? I get that right now there are people screaming "Stupid Spoiled American!" at their computer screens. It's true. I am. I have the privilege of access to a car. Could we choose to use it smarter? Absolutely.

We won't be getting a more fuel-efficient car. We own the truck. It gets about 15 miles to the gallon in the city and 20 on the freeway. This isn't great, but it is what it is. We paid it off last winter and, unless someone hands us a set of keys, we'll be driving it for a couple years longer. Of course, there are great fuel-efficient choices out there. And, if you are like me and are not in particularly impressed by the body style of the 3rd generation Prius (can you say Ulgy?). You could always drive a Tesla. Now there's a midlife crisis car that's all about sustainability! Saw one on the street over the weekend. Boy do they go zoom-zoom!

We don't really drive a lot now. Comparatively speaking. But there is always room for improvement, right?

Here is what I am willing to do:

Work from home? Would LOVE to! Definitely in my future. With my current job? Possibly. Could probably make the case for one day a week. Never hurts to ask. . .

Ride my bike as often as possible. This can be up to five days per week and also to the Farmers' Market on the weekend.

Batch our trips. If I am going to ride to work in the truck in the morning, we will run all errands that we need to do that day during that trip. Which means anything we forget gets put off until next time. Will take some planning.

Consider using Muni, biking or walking instead of driving the truck Every time we leave the house. This may seem small but I can tell you there are many times that I can recall when we've been driving around downtown looking for parking and have agreed that we should have taken Muni.

Pay an annual carbon offset fee for the miles we drive. This is a grey area for me. I don't think that sending money to someone to grow a tree should let us out of making better choices. . . but, there's also no getting around the fact that som

etimes I will be riding in a car. Yes. I will do this.

I consider it a privilege tax. No different than entertainment tax. There are lots of carbon calculators out there. TerraPass, Carbon Fund and Sustainable Travel International are all good ones.

If carbon offsetting is new to you, here is a short definition from carbonfund.o rg: A carbon offset represents a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce. Basically, you send money, based on info you enter into a carbon calculator, to a carbon reducing project. With some sites you can choose which project your money will support. With most, you support a portfolio of projects. Here is a more in depth description of why one would do this with some pros and cons.

I want my fee to be used to offset carbon locally. There are a few choices. I like the idea of the Chino Basin Dairy Farm Biodigester. I don't really want to give through one of the websites. I'd rather see the project and hand the project manager a check. For me this is the same as buying a chicken from a farm that I have visited. It makes sense. This will require more research. I'll keep you posted.

What are you doing to save the plant? What are you willing to do? Please leave your comments and suggestions here.

Coming up next. . . Grow Your Own!

A Winter Garden

2009-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

I get that this photo doesn't seem too impressive, but it is. These tomatoes were grown in the Outer Sunset in SF. Something everyone said couldn't be done. And, they are not the specially formulated "fog" tomatoes, either - which I hear don't taste like much. Ours, being smaller than usual, are like the dry land Early Girls that are now available at the Alemany Farmer's Market, full of intense tomato flavor. Yum.

This is the handful I picked yesterday. I ate them sliced on toast - one of my favorite breakfasts! We've had probably four or five other handfuls of tomatoes. . . not much fruit considering how big the plants are. Next year we will definitely trim them back. I've never trimmed a tomato plant in my life, but, considering our small garden space, it makes sense. The plants got absolutely giant this year, shading the peppers we planted in front of them. Not good. The peppers aren't going to produce squat.

We have already started our winter garden. I had visions of the summer garden being over, reworking the whole space and then planting the winter garden. Actually, there is overlap. The tomatoes aren't done yet and the sunny months are just coming on. I don't want to tear them out. We have beautiful carrots on their way (the 2nd batch) and lettuce, too.

We did tear out the zucchini and summer squash plants. We had beautiful zucchini. We ate it as-is and in a variety of recipes including zucchini bread. Made a loaf with almonds for Mr. Green. It was interesting. I'm not a big fan of nuts in bread - or nuts in anything, really. He liked it, I think. He didn't rave about it, or complain. It got eaten. The Zucchini Orzo recipe from Animal Vegetable Miracle is definitely a fav. We made it twice!

Summer squash didn't do so well. For some reason the squash would come on and then rot starting on the end before they were big enough to bother picking. Too bad. We threw away alot hoping that the next round would be OK. Not sure what to do about that. Skip it or fix it. Maybe if we spray the plants with worm tea earlier. . .

I'm so excited about being able to grow food in the winter! I've been in San Francisco for a year now. Looking out the window at this moment, the sun is shining in the Sunset today! A rarity, but I wouldn't trade this for anything! It's great fun being in a large city and our tiny garden is part of my new Urban Experience.

In Idaho this is the time of year when we glean the garden for anything even remotely ready to eat and hope the killing frost holds off for a few more days. It is such a joy for me to be able to bike to work and walk out of my office at lunch to stand in the warm sun. And I love the thought of looking out at a green garden all winter. Of course, the rain will come, but not for a few weeks longer. . .

Speaking of rain, it is my hope that we will use very little water on the winter garden. Mr. Green has already prepped the dirt for the next round of planting. He's worked in another round of compost and worm tea where the squashes, carrots and radishes were. Over the next couple of weekends we will put in shell peas (these are delicious and hard to get at the Farmers' Market - very short season), broccolini (I like it better than the regular), turnips (Mr. Green likes these), cauliflower, and garlic. We've already planted spinach (the second round), cabbages, carrots, lettuce and artichokes.

We planted three artichoke plants. There were all exactly the same to start with. Now two are thriving and more than a foot tall. I swear the other one hasn't grown since the day I planted it. It's still green but has only one set of leaves past it's seed leaves. At first I figured it would come along. Some plants do better than others. Now I've decided it's just a dud and I'm going to replace it with another one. The only thing I can figure is I was too rough on it getting it out of it's container. I'll be very careful with the next one.

Interesting phenomenon in our garden - we noticed that the plants in the front of the rows are taller than the plants further back. This is not the norm, which would be the opposite, and we puzzled over it briefly while we weeded a few weeks back. Were we being so careful to water the front that the plants were doing better? Did we work in more mulch or compost in the front?

Actually, it is the cement wall that is the front of our garden. It gets hot when the sun shines and then keeps the soil warm over night. The plants do better that are closest to the wall. Mr. Green says he's going to cover our fence with reflective material that will turn the garden into a tropical paradise when the sun shines - or at least heat things up a lot more. I'm envisioning something along the lines of those tanning sheets we all used to lay in the sun on back in the early 80's - before we knew better.

A novel idea, don't you think? I'll keep you posted.

Saturday Brunch at the Market

2009-08-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

I used to consider eating prepared food at the Farmers' Market a cheat. After all, I was there to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and other ingredients for the week. I should just go home and make something!

After three out of four of my last restaurant dining experiences ended in a stomach ache and not so pleasant case of what I can only assume was mild food poisoning, I have come to appreciate Brunch at the Market. It is a delicious dining experience that works for both body and soul.

The Alemany Farmers' Market now has Food Row. I like the new arrangement, with all the food carts, coaches and booths along the South side of the market and tables at both ends, much better than the previously haphazard placement with all of it sort of piled in the middle. There is something for everyone among the various and tasty delights available, and now you can see them.

Here are some of my favorites:

All Star Tamales (fondly known to us as The Tamale Guys)

These are by far the best tamales at any Farmers' Market. I know there are folks out there with flashy marketing selling at the fancy market, but let me tell you, their tamales Pale in comparison to All Star's.

I eat the Vegan Tamale. The masa is perfect and not too thick. The ample stuffing is made up of black beans, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, corn, roasted red peppers, and spinach. This tamale does not need cheese. You can taste all the vegetables and the roasted pepper imparts a little smokiness with each bite. The tamale is wonderful by itself or with a squirt of the green salsa. I am not a big fan of hot, so I stick to the mild.

The Tamale Guys serve 14 different kinds of tamales from traditional to unusual. They are made with NO lard and are available either cold, to take home and eat later, or hot to be eaten on the spot. They have green salsa and a couple of kinds of red salsa, varying from mild to burning hot, to add as you see fit. I recommend you try a few bites without adding anything just so you can appreciate the variety of flavors in these truly delicious tamales.

Panorama Baking Company

OK, so I haven't actually eaten from this booth, but they have the most beautiful breads I've ever seen! Ralphie, the owner, and his crew, supply bread for over 200 restaurants and hotels in the Bay Area. In addition, they also have been vending bread at the Alemany Market for the past fifteen years.

While I was chatting with Ralphie and Mr. Green was taking pictures, a young woman with a threeish-year-old child walked up. Ralphie turned to me and said, "See?" "I've know her since she was a teen!" "Now look at her!" "She has a husband and this beautiful child!" The woman smiled and said "I'm here almost every week." I could see and feel the connection. Beautiful.

Panorama is also at the Alemany location on Sunday during the Flea Market. I'll be trying their bread soon!

Spring Hill Jersey Cheese

Spring Hill has a lot of different kinds of organic cheese. And when I say a lot, I mean it. It is all from their cows who live in Petaluma so it is Estate Cheese. The ingredients are simple: Grade A milk, enzymes and salt. That's it. And their rennet is vegetable rennet. Since I'm not a cheese maker, I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I can tell you that all the cheeses I've tasted are good.

My favorite, so far, (one can only eat so many samples of cheese at once) is the Yellow Jersey Cheddar. It's smooth, tart and creamy. Not hard, not squishy, just firm and palatable. I thought for sure I would love the Garlic Cheddar or the White Cheddar, but not so much. The basic Yellow Cheddar is the one. I have no idea what the difference between yellow and white is. To be honest, I've always thought it was food coloring, but it must be something else, because the white cheddar and the yellow cheddar taste totally different.

The other item that Spring Hill has is Butter. This is butter that is meant to be enjoyed on a cracker or on a breadstick or on a slice of your best homemade bread while it's still warm. It's sweet and delicious and so good that you could serve it on a whole grain cracker as an hors d' oeuvre! There are samples. just ask for a taste. Now that I think of it, this butter on a slice of Panorama bread would be perfect!

Estrallita's Pupusas

Ahhhh. . . the Pupusas! A Salvadorian treat! These are delicious and so worth the wait. Cooked as they are ordered, these maize flour dough wonders are grilled to perfection, then served plain or with a pile of cold slaw on top and a ladle of mild or hot sauce.

The best way to understand what they are is to watch them being made. The woman who makes them takes a little ball of dough and flattens it out on her palm by patting it and turning it. then she puts a generous amount of filling in the middle, gathers the edges up and seals them, then flattens the whole thing out again and puts it on the grill.

The result is a savory mix of flavors with the smoothness of a mild white cheese all nestled in a browned crust that is heavenly. A perfect example of umami. Deliciousness that can't be described. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I like the mushroom and cheese and I get it "with everything".

And, by the way, pupusas are by far the best prepared food buy at the market. For only $2.50 each, they are a steal of a meal and a generous gourmet treat.

Malaysian Lacy Crepes

Azalina, the owner and chef at Malaysian Lacy Crepes has been working as a public and private chef for over fifteen years. She is from Malaysia and has been living in the states for seven years.

These crepes are different than the typical thin pancake with stuff inside. The crepe is actually lacy and full of holes and ends up on the bottom of the container with the "filling" on top. I love this because it makes the filling the feature - as it should be.

I tried the vegetable curry, which is completely different than Indian curry. Malaysian curry is mild which meant I could taste the vegetables, including pumpkin, which I love. The combination of sweet and savory is wonderful in this dish, and the pieces of crepe are the perfect, slightly spongy, accompaniment for the vegetable mixture.

The other item that is absolutely To Die For that Azalina makes is Chai Banana Fritters. These deep-fried blobs of heaven are the best dessert at the market. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the dough is the flavor of mild chai spice and is enhanced by the pieces of warm banana nestled inside. Amazingly tasty!

After I tasted mine, a woman was debating with her friend about whether to get some or not. I said I highly recommend them. I saw her later and she thanked me profusely and referred to them as "phenomenal".

Azalina and her husband are new at the market and are educating people about Malaysian food. As soon as people figure out how good it is, there will be a huge line!

The Hummus Guy

Mohamed is the Hummus Guy! He is from Tunisia. He is friendly and honest about who makes the hummus. His sister and his mom do. He gives them full credit for all the delicious flavors. He says he's just the sales guy - and he's good at it. His favorite flavor is Artichoke. Mine is Garlic and Chive. He says I won't get any kisses eating that and I better get Mr. Green to try some, too! The plain is also good.

I love this hummus because it doesn't have any weird unpronounceable ingredients. Just garbanzos, olive oil, tahini, garlic, lemon & the herbs or veggies that makes each kind special. It's great on toast. It's great on carrot sticks. It's great on a spoon! And, of course, it's great on pita, which the Hummus Guy also sells.

Good Foods Catering

OK, so I haven't eaten at this booth, but I love the idea of Grilled Watermelon! I also love the thought of a delicious pulled pork sandwich for breakfast. I'll be trying it soon for two reasons. First, because the smell of the meat cooking on their grill is scrumptious and second, because all the people I asked who were eating from Good Foods said it was "Fantastic".

Their food display was such a beautiful pile of comfort food, I couldn't not include them.

Copper Top Ovens

These guys drag a 1700 pound real wood-fired brick oven to the market each week (slightly crazy!). And the make amazing pizza! The oven itself is a reason to stop by. It's a functional work of art. Beautiful on the outside and hot on the inside. Their pizzas cook in two minutes!

I love thin crust pizza and this one is a good one. The owner, Tom, gets his flour from Giusto's, which is an organic flour mill located here, in San Francisco. The pizza crust is perfect. Crispy on the outside and slightly chewy toward the center of the slices.

I have eaten this pizza twice and enjoyed it both times. The sauce tastes fresh, slightly tart, and has a good hint of basil in it. It's light and just tomatoey enough to show off the flavors of the toppings, whether you choose traditional meats or a variety of veggies.

Uncomplicated is how to order this pizza, which is why the menu recommends two toppings. You want to be able to experience all the flavors from the crust to the cheese without muddying it up with too much on the top. There are a variety of topping options available. I like roasted garlic and mushroom or spinach and tomato. Mr. Green enjoyed the pepperoni.

Of course, what makes this pizza is the oven. Pizza cooked in a wood-fired brick oven has a taste that you just can't get with a conventional oven. The crust finishes slightly smokey and brown, as does the cheese. Delicious!

Tom uses as many local ingredients as he can find. He also makes and sells these ovens and will bring one to your place and cater. How fun would that be?!

I love brunch at the market! There are so many great food choices. There are many more choices than the ones I have written about. These are just the ones I like best. I dine first and then shop for produce. It's a wonderful way to start my Saturday.

To be honest, I would like it more if I could get it on a real plate with a real fork. I'm seriously considering taking these items with me. And maybe a cloth napkin. And possibly a split of champagne with a stemmed glass. That, and a seat at one of the tables, would make my Saturday Morning dining experience complete!

To view the rest of the pictures we took of the food vendors, see Mr. Green's photo album.

Thank you so much to Mr. Green for being my photographer, technical whiz and fellow foodie. . . kisses.

Enough!

2009-08-08T20:27:00.001-07:00

*cartoon by Nataliedee
Here is an article about "green" impulse buys. It bothers me. I don't think buying more stuff is actually Green. Do we need more stuff? Even if it's green? And it's women who make these purchases. . . I don't know what the items are, but they must be pretty tempting.

One of my goals lately has been to go a whole week without stepping into a regular store. We get our food from various farmers' markets or from farmer friends and if we plan well, we only need to go to a larger store for other perishables (like toilet paper and dish soap) a couple times a month. I also have the privilege of Mr. Green doing most of the shopping, which totally works for me. Somehow, not shopping gives me a sense of freedom. Freedom from consumerism. I don't need anything. I have clothes. We have a home. We have all the creature comforts necessary to live a comfortable life.

And now this idea of not really needing anything has a label and a vocabulary, thanks to Lynne Twist, the author of The Soul of Money. It's a great concept. It works for me. It's the concept of "Enough".

While on vacation in Ketchum, Idaho, Mr. Green and I purchased a CD by Lynne to listen to on our long drive through Nevada back to San Francisco. It is called Unleashing the Soul of Money. I haven't read her book, The Soul of Money, but Mr. Green has and he's been considering a re-read.

Mr. Green was driving, two days later, when I put the CD in the player. Lynne is pleasant to listen to and the subject matter was certainly engaging. I don't remember everything about the CD but I do remember the part that "stuck". It was this concept of "Enough".

At this time, in the U.S., people are considered consumers. We "consume". That is our purpose according to mass media, the banking system, our government, etc. Everyday we hear about the consumer index and whether or not we are buying - buying homes, buying cars, shopping, shopping, shopping. It's a bad day if no one buys anything. This has always bothered me. Makes me feel like a locust. One of the many.

Yes, I do buy things. And some of the time they are things I don't actually need, but just want. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. What bothers me is senseless buying. Buying with out consideration or thought. I've done it. I've come home from the grocery store and taken something out of the bag and thought "What the Hell did I buy THIS for?!"

And yet, I gave up on being a super-consumer a long time ago. Long before I got rid of the huge storage room of extra "belongings" that I had amassed through raising two kids and moving three times, I decided I didn't need any more stuff. Looking at the stuff in my storage actually used to make me feel sick. I would get queazy and headachy in anticipation of dealing with all of it and at some point deciding was important enough to keep. I hoped it would all just disappear.

Unfortunately there was no act of god and when it became clear that my stuff was overstaying its welcome in it's free home in the basement of a building that belonged to a friend, I finally went through it and got rid of about 75%. I gave it to good will. Books, furniture, clothes, nick-nacks, gee-gaws, yard tools, sports equipment - you get the idea. Do I miss any of it? Hmmm. Let me think. NO.

Lynne mentioned that we used to be called "citizens" instead of "consumers". Citizens are responsible. They take care of, and care about, their country. I'm never a fan of stepping backward to some idealized time. It feels like regression to me. I believe that the concept of being a citizen has a new meaning now. Think about it. Not only do we care about our country, we care about our world. And there are a whole pile of us who want to take care of our world by not consuming it.

Next Lynne started talking about considering the possibility that what we have right now is enough in a different way. That we are enough, what we do is enough, who we know is enough, what happens around us is enough. That it's all enough. Whoa! This startled me. If what we have in this moment, in this bigger concept, is enough, what is there to strive for? Why bother to go to work in the morning? Why create anything new? If the universe meets my needs, exactly, right now, what's the point of doing anything besides laying in bed all day waiting for the universe to provide what's next?

I was totally resistant to this idea that it was All Enough. I kept listening but the little voices in my head had grown huge and were screaming, "No!" "It Can't Be Enough!" "You Will Die!" I could barely hear the world around me. I kept listening to Lynne and to the voices and I have no idea what she said, but suddenly I got it.

It's not about there not being enough. There is plenty of everything for everyone. Yes, the portions are screwed up and that's something to work on, but there really is no scarcity on the planet. We can choose to frame it all differently. Right now in this moment. To put it in the context of contribution and passionate living. Everything we do, we do because we want to. Not because someone told us to. Or, because of the almighty dollar.

I can spend my day working in non-profit making a buck, or I can spend my day working in non-profit being a contribution to the mission of the organization. Let me tell you, the latter makes the work much closer to play and much more rewarding. All those phone calls? The outcome is what it will be. The contribution is making the connection with another human who also wants to be passionate about the choices they make.

I already knew this. I've worked in non-profit for years. What is new for me is holding the context of Enough everyday. It's changed the way I make choices. It has lowered my stress level. It has shifted the lens through which I view life. As odd as it may sound, it's made my life better. Easier. More focused on passion and acceptance and caring. I'm more thoughtful about the choices I make.

This concept is important. It will change the world. If it's all enough, why would we want too much? Why would we hoard anything? We won't. We will share. We will put our resources where they are most needed: to support our families, our communities and our world.

Guerilla Gardening in Portland

2009-08-07T18:46:00.001-07:00

A friend of a friend posted the story below on Facebook. Mr. Green wrote to him and he was kind enough to lend this version of it to us to post. It's a true story, well written and worth the read. . . Enjoy! And, thank you David for sharing the experience.

A block from my downtown Portland apartment, there’s an easement about five feet wide and half a block long, which divides a parking lot from the sidewalk. Recent city ordinances call for such an amenity around all new lots, but of course most of them are older than the ordinance and comply only partially, if at all.

For most of the four years I’ve lived in the neighborhood, this one has been nothing more than a strip for weeds, trash, and dog poop. It got cleaned up a little earlier this year, and some bark was laid in, but that was all.

Several weeks ago, my wife and I noticed that someone had planted vegetables along a portion of the strip. There were several tomato plants, some beans, a chili pepper, a jalapeno, an eggplant, possibly a cucumber -- about sixteen in all. Although I took a similar number of non-food-bearing plants nearby for part of the same plot, it turned out they were not connected to the guerilla planting.

We gave the vegetable plants less than a 50-50 chance of survival: most likely, the homeless people in the neighborhood would steal the edibles and trample the plants before they were ripe, we thought.

The weekend of July 25-26, I noticed the plants had grown, but were looking pretty dry, and in some cases flattened. They didn’t appear to have been watered at all. Record heat was forecast for the coming week; three days later, temperatures hit 107 and remained in three digits -- rare for Portland -- for several days straight.

I decided to help ’em out. I borrowed a key from my building’s maintenance guy and filled a pair of my own buckets, repeatedly, at one of the exterior spigots along the outer walls of our building, and walked diagonally across an intersection to get to the parched greenery. It took five trips, with 2-1/4 gallon buckets, to water all the plants in the strip -- maybe a total of 22 gallons.

I’ve never had much of a green thumb, but I had been laid off my five-year-old job the week before, so I had plenty of time on my hands. For two days I watered the plants. On the third day I found the first sign that somebody else cared about them: the tomatoes had been staked so they now stood up to two feet in the air.

There were also several printed paper signs among the plants that had the parking lot’s logo at the top and read:

“Dear Enthusiast,

“This area is not intended as a vegetable garden. Please remove all plants by Monday, August 3^rd. If you fail to do so, we will be forced to remove them.

“Thank you for you [sic] cooperation.”

Would be “forced” to remove them? Because the strip had been despoiled after being so attractive and productive before? Because someone was stealing invaluable soil nutrients that until now had provided an exquisite cushion for litter and animal waste? Was the owner worried that someone might eat the vegetables, get sick, and sue; or, worse, sell the goods at a profit?

I had to admit it was refreshing to see “enthusiast” employed as a pejorative term.

I still had no idea who planted the vegetables. I thought it might have been someone from the church that abuts the lot. I rather indignantly watered them a third time on that hottest day of the year, and a fourth time the morning of the fifth day.

Having just read a new biography of Camus, I was primed to view the situation as a classic illustration of an existential response to the absurd: no one seemed to want to take responsibility for the situation, and the end was foreordained.

There was no sign of a planter who might move the plants to a safer location, but a Big Brother warning set a hard deadline. Thus, my choice to water the plants was an “acte gratuit” -- a senseless move in the face of certain doom.

Still smarting with indignation, I wrote up an account of the situation and fired it off to the op-ed team of the Portland daily, The Oregonian. The online op-ed editor, charmed by the Camus reference, requested a photo of the plants (I made certain to include the warning sign) and put the piece online that very afternoon, July 30. It garnered some lively comments that were mostly supportive:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/my_guerilla_plantwatering_camp.html

The print edition the following morning called attention to my piece, and directed readers to the online essay.

As I continued my one-man bucket brigade, passersby had told me they’d been worried about the garden and were happy to see me watering “my” plants. They were astonished when I responded that they weren’t my plants; I didn’t know whose they were.

A homeless man making his way slowly by saw me pouring buckets of water on the plants and said, “Doin’ it the hard way … whatever works.” A moment later, almost approvingly, he added: “You might get a tomato.”

It was only late on the evening of the sixth day that I heard from the original “perps.” A student wrote me an email praising my online essay and revealing that kids from the local college had planted the vegetables. They were members of a summer class devoted to the topic of “revolution and radical social change.”

He asked me not to identify the class or even the college, because most of the students (and even the instructor) were worried about potential legal and academic effects upon their careers if they were to be identified.

I responded that I would have failed each and every student in the class who did not wish to have their activities and the course publicized, for they evidently hadn’t learned the first thing about revolution and social change. It doesn’t happen unless and until you put your ass on the line, and risk something.

If the instructor felt the same way, then he shouldn’t be teaching the course, I continued. To take action without being willing to take any responsibility for it was a violation of revolutionary principles; it’s precisely what has made so many would-be revolutionaries a laughingstock throughout history. The class’s action seemed to me as funny as it was pathetic.

I asked what the class had intended to do -- or not do -- with the plants. Was planting the garden and not bothering to water it part of the point? Were they just trying to see whether anyone would notice?

I didn’t receive any answers before the Monday deadline. When that came, it was over quickly.

My fear had been that I would be too late. I was afraid the property owner, having noticed that someone had seen what was going on, would send out an employee to tear up the plants in the wee hours of the morning in order to avoid confrontation and further publicity.

But when I got up the morning of August 3, I could see from my sixth-floor apartment window that the plants on the next block were undisturbed. Preparing for a long day, I packed a folding deck chair, books to read, some munchies and a thermos of ice water, and a digital camera to record whatever was going to happen.

I swung by the Starbucks downstairs and fumed silently in a line of caffeine addicts as the clock ticked up to 8:00 a.m. By 8:03 I was on site. Everything was undisturbed.

By now, though I had not planted the garden and it certainly wasn’t on my property, I had a proprietary interest in the plot (in more than one sense). Over the preceding week, I had lugged an estimated 115 gallons of water -- in buckets, by hand -- about 80 yards from my block to the garden.

I decided to take photos of each of the plants at their (possible) zenith. There were beans showing, a few green tomatoes, tiny jalapenos, and a tiny but richly purpled eggplant.

I was only halfway through photographing all the plants when a young woman in a white shirt and black trousers arrived and informed me that she had been tasked with tearing them out. We left signs saying people had until Monday to remove them, she informed me. Most of them have blown away, but here’s one, she said, pointing to a paper sign I had carefully preserved on a tomato stake, and around which I had watered, the past four days.

That’s fine, I said. I’m just going to take pictures of you while you do it. Assuring her they were not my plants, I asked for a contact phone number for her employer, which she gave me. She said “the church” had also requested the plants be removed.

That surprised me. As I said earlier, I had initially thought the planters might be members of the congregation of the neighboring church. If they hadn’t planted the vegetables and probably didn’t own the lot, why would they care that someone else had?

As the woman bent to her job, she said, “I really don’t want to do this. It’s a damn shame.” I settled in my deck chair with my vanilla latte and blueberry scone. As the woman gently pulled up the vegetables and placed them in a black garbage bag, I took a few photos.

When she had finished and turned to leave, she said (rather grimly I thought), “Have a good day.” It was all over by 8:15. No friends had come by, no passing cars honked, no TV crews showed up (though I had emailed the local stations about this late the night before).

Somewhat happily, only the vegetables were gone; the other plants were apparently not part of the guerilla garden and were allowed to stay. I found out later they are probably part of the property owner’s compliance with city ordinance.

I went home and made some calls. A heavily accented gentleman at the abutting church said nobody knew anything about the vegetable garden, and he did not think anyone there had requested it be removed.

A friend who works for the city did some digging and found that taxes on the property are paid by a different, much larger church that sits on the next block to the north of the parking lot and soil strip. The number the employee had given me rang at the offices of a huge downtown parking and development company, which presumably manages the lot on behalf of the church.

When I finally heard back from my contact in the class, he explained that the vegetable plot had not been a “class project.” The students and instructor had designed a curriculum together at the start, and agreed to act and approve projects by consensus. Everything had to be legal and ethical.

Apparently, the class had not approved the vegetable garden project; I think the proposers may have asked the church’s permission up front and failed to receive it. They went ahead and planted without the approval and support of their classmates and the instructor, as well as the church.

My email contact admitted that he had scoffed at the garden proposal -- how could planting a vegetable garden in famously green and eco-friendly Portland constitute a radical act? -- and had been taken aback by the attention it had gotten.

He personally agreed with pretty much everything I had written, he said; the word he chose for his classmates’ behavior in trying to duck recognition was “craven.” But since he had contacted me (also without consulting the group first and obtaining permission) and thereby brought unwanted attention to his classmates and the instructor, with potential legal and academic repercussions -- still pretty small, in my and his estimation -- he was now being regarded as a Judas by his fellow students.

They did not want me coming to their class to speak, which he had proposed the week before -- apparently because it might blow their cover. It was very amusing to me to be treated like a bomb-throwing anarchist with a mile-long FBI file when all I had done was . . . water some plants and then talk about it.

Meanwhile, the print edition op-ed editor for the Oregonian had called me and requested a 500-word summation of the caper for the print edition. That ran on Wednesday, August 5, and again garnered many reader comments, mostly in support:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/08/urban_gardening_an_impossible.html

It’s easy to hate the property owners, but I’m not convinced that anyone came out of this with clean hands. Even though the vegetable garden was a lovely revolutionary act, much applauded by the public to whose attention I brought it, the planters acted against the consensus of their group (another common violation of revolutionary principles), and I have a hard time seeing what they managed to accomplish without my intervention.

Several months ago, the manager of my apartment building acquired a third dog, a lovely dachsund, to go with his two basenjis, when he witnessed someone abandon it in the nearby park. People have been breeding dogs and trying to sell the puppies on Craigslist, he told me, but when the animals get too big, they just dump them.

What the college planters did looks pretty much the same to me. They seem to have abandoned the plants. Knowing the property owner was likely to come after their work, and having been informed roughly when it would happen, they didn’t appear to have devised any strategy to witness the deed, let alone rally support to stop it.

Plenty of folks, both strangers on the Oregonian’s Web site and Facebook friends who read my reports via that venue, applauded my efforts, but no one stepped up with a solution. I suspect if I had beat the bushes and pleaded, someone might have come up with a safe plot to which the plants could have been moved. But that was part of the point I wanted to make: if we’re going to be a community, everyone has to contribute ideas and labor. And they weren’t my plants.

On the other hand, a friend told me this morning that if it had been a 20-year-old tree -- something with more of a history -- she might have made more of an effort to find an alternative lot for it. Also, situated where they were, these vegetables would likely have had a high lead content. Another friend directed me to an essay by an longtime gardening activist who decried folks that attack guerilla gardening with good intentions and verve but virtually no gardening skills:

http://dooneyscafe.com/archives/402

And I? Well, I was guiltily pleased that I didn’t have to sit out in the hot sun all day but could return to my air-conditioned apartment and go back to looking for a job. I got some published writing and quite a few strokes from friends and strangers out of the deal.

There’s a maxim from Tertullian regarding faith: credo quia absurdum est, which means (given that faith cannot be proven or justified by reason): “I believe because it is absurd.”

My attitude as illustrated by this caper would be somewhat similar: “I take action because it is futile.” My college roommate, a classics major, emailed me that the Latin version might be ago quia futile est.

That encapsulates my perspective at many levels, whether it’s watering the guerilla garden, my little, brief life on this planet, or the survival of the human species and the rest of life as we know it.

With so many powerful interests working hard to make us into mere consumers and spectators (at worst, voyeurs), it’s important to act and speak up, even if it’s only to give others a chance to teach you where you’re wrong.

Otherwise, you’re not learning and growing; you’re just opening your mouth for someone else’s spoons.

The story and photos above are by David Loftus who is an actor and writer living in Portland, Oregon.Samples of his writing and voice acting work may be found on his Web site at www.david-loftus.com.

More Bee News

2009-07-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Aren't bees interesting?

Here are some more words about bees that didn't fit into the day at the farm bee experience blog. . .

Beekeeping Options

Allen Larson, the beekeeper from GetBees.net, who delivered the bees to Tara Firma Farms, maintains beehives all over Northern California. He's from Redding and travels far and wide to maintain hives (although not to Idaho). If you would like one, he'll come and set it up and then he'll come back and maintain it. And, you get the honey when it's ready. What a deal! The cost is $570 for the first year and $470 for the next years. This is a great option for those who would love to have increased garden yield or who would just like to assist with the re-population of bees but aren't really interested in beekeeping on a daily basis. And, Allen is just a really nice guy. He's happy to have you invite your friends over for a bee party when he's there. He'll loan out as many suits as he has and talk about bees and show them off while he works. He'll also do a honey tasting!

Another option is to take a beekeeping class, buy the stuff and keep your own bees. Beekeeping classes are offered by Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper, the shop in the Mission at 3520 20th Street. They just finished a round and will be starting up again in August. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Green and I will be in one of those classes. The classes are $20 each (a steal) and getting started with bees is about another $300 total. Cameo Wood, the owner, is an extremely knowledgeable beekeeper and has all the gear you will need. It's always nice to buy local. I like the idea of stimulating business in the Mission.

Bee Mites

One of the things that is killing bees that you will have to deal with if you decide to become a beekeeper is Bee Mites. These little white insects live on the backs of bees and breed by laying eggs in drone cells right before they are sealed. They cause a decrease in the bees' immune systems and make them more susceptible to disease. These will wipe out your hive if you don't do something about them. There are three ways that I've heard of so far to get rid of mites.

One is you put sticky paper in the bottom of your beehive, then sprinkle your bees with powdered sugar, which is a food source. They will groom the mites off of each other as they eat the sugar and the mites will fall to the bottom of the hive, and stick to the paper and die. Seems fairly logical, but sticky in a multitude of ways. . . especially out here in the foggy Sunset District!

Another is you can insert a special drone cell frame into your beehive. The bees will build drone cells, the queen lays eggs in them, the mites lay eggs in them, they get sealed and then you take the frame out of the beehive and freeze it for three or four days, which kills the mites. After it's been frozen you can give it back to the bees for food or scrape it and feed it to your chickens (assuming you have a few around). This seems like a lot of wasted bee effort to me. Both the creating and the clean up. . .

You can also use aromatic essential oils that are a scent the mites don't like. . . such as wintergreen or patchouli. I guess you won't find bee mites on gum chewers or old hippies.

Or, you can do the conventional (and not recommended by me) thing and hang a pesticide strip in your beehive.

As a potential backyard (or roof, as the case may be) beekeeper, I won't use the pesticide strips or the aromatics. They would affect the honey. Probably would do the drone frame or the sugar. NO PESTICIDES.

Why Bees Aren't Flourishing or Colony Collapse Disorder

There are lots of theories about why bee populations are dying. . . the most obvious cause is insecticides. There is a place in China called Sichuan where, for the last ten years people have been pollinating the fruit trees! They have killed off their entire bee population with insecticides. Now, each spring, they crawl through the trees with bottles of pollen and little brushes made with chicken feathers and "pollinate" every blossom. This is outrageous! It occurs to me as something from a post apocalyptic novel or movie! And they've been doing it for ten years!

There are also BT crops. These crops contain, bacillus thuringiensis in their DNA (it's inserted at the seed level) which means they are "bug resistant" or in regular words, it means they have insecticide bred into them. Seems logical to me that these plants would contribute to the death of bees. They certainly have contributed to the decimation of butterflies. Which, by the way, was intentional. Here is an interesting article that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle a while back about BT crops and bees.

There is also the monoculture planting with no ditch banks that big farms do now. Remember the days of collecting bugs (and asparagus) on ditch banks? Now there are no ditch banks. Water is piped underground as a water and space saving technique and every inch of usable space has been converted to field. Bees, like the rest of us, need variety in their diet in order to be healthy. Corn, corn, corn does not a rounded meal make. Maybe there's a link between Colony Collapse Disease in bees and Obesity in humans. It's not too far fetched if you think about it. It is possible that bees shouldn't eat massive amounts of corn and soy products either. . .

Why Raise Bees?

I spend time in my garden. Even though there are over 200 beekeepers in the Sunset District, I could count the bees I've seen in my garden this year on two hands. Not more than six or eight. How sad. Helping to re-establish the bee population in any area is a contribution to society. We need bees. Bees and insects should do the necessary pollinating in our neighborhoods. I (and you, I'm pretty sure) am not interested in doing it myself. If the neighbors' gardens have an increased vegetable and fruit yield because of the bees on my roof, how cool is that?!

Bees are pets with a purpose. Just think of all that honey! And the sound is calming, stress-relieving, meditative. A low hum is a good thing. I can tell you I'll be sitting by my bee box on a regular basis if I get one.

Becoming a beekeeper would bring me closer to nature. I've always been in touch with the earth through plants and gardening. Being responsible for something that is not rooted in the ground and that is producing something from my neighborhood for me is an exciting idea!

There are few things more beautiful than witnessing a bee doing her work as she flies from flower to flower, crawling inside to gather nectar, bobbing through the air from one to the next and then moving on with purpose to another plant. This experience brings me into the present and leaves me smiling.

Beekeeping is just another way to be a steward of the earth. . . I want to know what my neighborhood tastes like. Aren't you curious about yours?

AUTHOR NOTE: The information above was gleaned from articles I've read and information from beekeepers and is just my opinion. I didn't do any scientific research for this article. lol. I encourage you to find out about bees in your area and in the world by doing your own research in the manner you enjoy most. Happy bee watching!

Beautiful Bees

2009-07-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

This morning I had the privilege of learning about bees first-hand.

When we arrived at Tara Firma Farms, Allen Larson, owner of GetBees.net, aka rawhoneyguy on twitter, was already there. I could see the bee boxes, belted in and wrapped with a bright orange tie-down, on the passenger seat of his vehicle.

The weather was perfect. Cloudy and cool compared to last Sunday's mid-90's. Tara greeted us and we met Allen. Then we walked out past the barns to the old milking shed to get started. Allen handed around bee suits and Tara, Elijah and I suited up in full costume. Mr. Green just wore a jacket with hood so he could take pictures. . . I have no idea what the bee-keeping vocabulary is for these get-ups, but they are interesting. The hood with hat that protects the face zips to the collar of the jumpsuit so there's no chance of upset bees getting in underneath. Which is a good thing. Then there are the elbow-length industrial strength gloves. Once dressed, I felt safe. . . and wondered briefly about my tennis shoes, figuring if I was going to get stung, the netting over the toe box would provide good access to the tops of my feet. Ouch.

I didn't need to worry. The bees were well-behaved the whole time we played with them. You can hear when they are agitated. The volume and intensity of the buzzing sound increases quickly and dramatically. When this happened, Allen would just give them a few puffs from the little smoker which was filled with dry grass and they would calm right down. The smoke blocks their sense of smell so they can't smell the pheromone that is released when they are feeling threatened.

Allen carried the two bee boxes, still strapped together, to their new home at the edge of the vegetable garden. He removed the tie-down and then he peeled the duct tape off the bottom of the hive. As he peeled it off, giving the bees access to the outside world, he pumped smoke along the opening. I was expecting bees to come boiling out, but they didn't. A few came out and crawled around on the edge of the box. They he opened the lid. There were a lot of bees crawling around on the lid, going about their bee business. He set it aside.

Then he removed a new frame from the box and showed us that the bees were just starting to build it up with wax. The frames come with the cells already established on them. That way the bees build cells the size that will produce worker bees. Sometimes the bees make bigger cells. These cells produce drones. The queen decides to lay either a fertilized egg (which produces a worker) or an unfertilized egg (which produces a drone) by sticking her head into the cell to see what size it is.

The queen is a very busy woman. She lays between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs per day. When she flies out to mate, all the drones are waiting 100 feet up in the air. This is all the drones do. Once they leave the hive, they are not allowed back in. They fly around at 100 feet waiting for a female. Once they mate, they die. If they don't mate, they die. That's it. A drone's life is short and to the point.

The queen mates about 20 times a day for up to three days and then goes back to the hive to lay eggs. That's what she does. She can't feed herself, so the other bees feed her as long as she is laying well. If her egg laying slows, the bees will create another queen from a larvae by feeding it royal jelly and then will kill the current queen as soon as the new queen is ready.

The workers? Well, they work, work, work. Worker bee life is driven and four months long.

One gets to enjoy twenty to thirty pounds of honey from a hive in a year. It takes 2 million flowers to make a pound of honey. Bees fly over 55,000 miles to make that pound of honey. Each bee visits 50 to 100 flowers on a trip from the hive and makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.

There are 50,000 to 80,000 bees in a hive. Once it starts to get over-populated the bees will make a new queen and stop feeding the old queen so she slims down. When she is ready, she will fly out, taking about half the bees with her. They will swarm to a new location.

We spent some time looking at the frames full of bees. I was sharing one with Elijah and I asked if he thought there were three hundred bees on the frame. He said, "No, at least five hundred." It was about 2/3 covered on one side. The bees are beautiful. We saw one do the bee dance, letting the other workers know what was needed in the area where she was working.

We held a frame that was already full of honey. It was heavy. It weighed at least 5 pounds probably more like seven.

I only had one bee hit the front of my hood. They were calm the whole time we played with them. Allen told us that if we ever ended up in a swarm of angry bees to run and swat, don't stand and swat. Bees are territorial and if you run you will get to the edge of their territory and they will leave you alone. Same with wasps or yellow jackets. If you do get stung by a bee, scrape the stinger out with your fingernail as quickly as possible. Don't bother looking for a credit card.

Allen tried to find the queen, but she was illusive. She is pretty easy to spot if she is on a frame. She's twice as big as a worker bee and has a shiny upper back. No fuzz. We didn't see her.

The sun came out and things started to heat up. Allen put the frames back in the hive and we left the bees to get used to their new home. Back at the old milking barn, Allen got out four jars of honey and let us taste them. Each one was completely different. He had raspberry honey, which was light in color and did taste slightly of raspberry. Spring flower had a little citrus to it. Wildflower was darker and richer tasting with just a hint of molasses. And alfalfa, which is the most common type, reminded me of home. When I was in grade school we used to get alfalfa honey every once in a while from a bee grower in Rupert. I liked the wildflower the best. Yum.

Being with the bees was peaceful. Their hum is calming and pleasant. It was an amazing experience to see them working, learn about them and enjoy the morning with new friends. There is a lot of thistle blooming on the farm right now. And vegetables and blackberries. It will be interesting to see, next summer,what Tara Firma Farms tastes like. I'm looking forward to it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Allen will be maintaining the hive over the course of the year. There will be bee parties each time he comes to the farm. If you are interested in knowing when these bee parties are happening, send Tara Firma Farms an email. Tara and Craig would love for you to come out and experience the bees.

If you'd like to see the rest of my Bee pictures there they are.

Finger Lickin' Good!

2009-07-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

This post is by Mr. Green. . .

The most amazing thing . . . do you think you know what a chicken tastes like? People talk about tomatoes as having no flavor when raised on industrial farms - sometime carrots too. And I do have to say the carrots coming from our garden are sweet, wet and full of flavors I had almost forgotten.

This last weekend we went to an organic farm. We brought home a chicken that wasn't raised with tens of thousands of others in the dark. It wasn't pumped full of hormones or antibiotics. It wasn't fed only one thing. It hadn't had it's flesh bleached 3 times with chlorine to kill pathogens.

I roasted it last night and was shocked at the flavor. It actually had a rich and satisfying flavor. It reminded me of the security of a home cooked meal like my grandmother would make. We should all eat like this!

Check out Tara Firma Farms<.

Promote Global Worming!

2009-07-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

We got some new friends this weekend. Hundreds of them. They are little red wigglers. We spent at least an hour on Saturday separating them out from the compost they came with and now they are all settled in.

Mr. Green has come up with an ingenious little gizmo that serves as their home and creates a space for the worms to eat your food waste! The best part is, after they eat, they leave worm tea that comes out the spigot on the bottom of the 1st bucket. You can use it on the plants in your garden or on your house plants. It's amazing stuff and your plants will thank you by being happy, healthy and hearty! There are also the worm castings that you can mix into the soil in your garden. Better than cow poop from what I hear! And they don't smell nearly as bad. . .

Here's what he has to say about it:

http://tinyurl.com/WormBlog

Riding my Bike

2009-07-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

Nope. That's not me.

I bike to work. Not because I am saving the planet, refusing to drive a car, keeping the air clean, conserving oil or most of the other reasons you might think of, although they are all nice side-effects. I ride my bike to work because I like to ride my bike. I also ride my bike to work because it's an easy way to get the exercise I need and the bus, to put it mildly, is torturously boring. Biking is faster than the bus. Depending on traffic, 30 to 40 minutes faster.

I used to have a car. It was a nice car. A Subaru Outback. I bought it off of Ebay. Before I left Boise last fall, as I was anticipating living in San Francisco and starting to put things in boxes, I thought to myself (no kidding), "I'm not really going to need a car there." "It's just going to be a big hassle." Low and behold, four days after I arrived, a wonderful woman who is now my good friend ran a red light and smashed the #*)@&$* out of my car. No one was injured and her insurance company was happy to buy it from me for more than I paid for it.

Sort of like a magic trick only less predictable. I already knew that one must be careful about what one says to the universe. I had no idea how much I didn't want to have a car. I don't miss it and it saves me a significant amount of cash each month for it to be in car heaven. No insurance payment, no parking tickets, no fuel to buy and no parking lot fee. By not having a car I save approximately $250 per month without parking tickets. Not bad.

I admit, it's a bit of a hassle to ride to work. I pack my work clothes and shoes in my backpack along with a travel blow-dryer, hair brush and washcloth. I bike in biking clothes and change in the bathroom. It works out OK and no one has complained so far about my appearance. I get that it's probably easier for me than for most women because I don't wear makeup and my "uniform of choice" is trousers and a long sleeved t-shirt.

Riding to work has many rewards. It's a chance to experience the commute in a different way. I get to really see the beautiful flower beds at the corner of Pacheco and 35th. I say hi to pedestrians and other cyclists. I ride through Golden Gate Park and smell the eucalyptus and pine. I get to see the city rise up in front of me in all different weather as I crest the top of Uclid each morning. It's beautiful.

After I cross through the park, I ride part of the way home on Irving. It's always busy with cars double parked and pedestrians who cross in the middle of the street. The best thing about Irving at 5:30 p.m. is the smells. It smells like dinner. All kinds of dinner. French fries, curry, garlic, asian food, indian food, american food and it all smells good. Some nights it makes my mouth water.

Tonight there was a car waiting for a parking place. There were five other cars honking like crazy. This situation always makes me smile. My story about honking is that people are "honking for joy". I don't really know why each driver is honking, so why not for joy? Tonight I told myself that they were so happy that the guy might actually be able to park that they were all honking in support of waiting for the car to leave so he could back in. . . I know this seems silly, but it really takes the negativity out of it for me. Try it. Just once. I guarantee you'll smile, if not laugh out loud.

The distance to work is 6.2 miles, so if I ride 5 days a week, that's 62 miles. I have yet to ride all 5 days. There always seems to be something, like the event I have to go to on Thursday night, or a board meeting, or rain, that keeps me from getting in all 5 days. Maybe next week.

It's easier to ride to work than it is to ride home. And, thanks to my friend, Marsha Franklin, who lives in Boise, Idaho and is an award-winning reporter for the Public TV Station there, I may have figured out why. She sent an article out on Facebook that talks about nutrition and exercise Eating to Fuel Exercise. What I learned from the article is I should pack half a peanut butter sandwich to work and eat it at 4 p.m.. Sounds oddly yummy, actually.

I do have a new concern around spending a lot of time on my bike. I thought it was really heathy for me to ride a lot. Marsha posted another cycling article on Facebook a couple weeks ago that gave me pause. It's called Is Bicycling Bad for your Bones? Yikes! The article says that "recreational cyclists" don't have anything to worry about. What is the definition of "recreational"? The article also says "If you do race or train hard and often on a bike, consider a bone scan."

I don't race but I do ride quite a bit. This is a real concern for me. My father has osteoporosis and had my mother not died an untimely death, she would have it, also. I had a bone scan a couple of years ago and I was at 110% for my age range. I'd like to keep it that way. Of course the answer here, as suggested in the article, is lifting weights. And making sure my nutrition is good.

I'm also considering participating in the Aids/Lifecycle Ride next summer. It's only 545 miles over 7 days. The longest day is just over 100 miles. The rest are shorter. It's fully supported with great food and fun every evening. I hear it's the Creme de la Creme of Charity Rides. I also hear that it's an amazing and fulfilling experience. Probably in the top ten of a lifetime.

Sounds fun, doesn't it? . . . How about you join me? If I can get three other people to commit to the ride, I'll do it. Do check out the website before you say yes.

Let's Ride!