Leisure | The Canary Report

A canary’s vacation to the Dominican Republic

Posted on Feb 20, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Franny Armstrong, Leisure, MCS

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Our trip to the Dominican Republic was wonderful, but along the journey we sucked in a ton of diesel fumes.

Not as pretty as it looks; boats give off fumes.

My trip to the Dominican Republic was wonderful. I’m paying the price now but in the long run, I believe it was worth it. Even I have to come out of my cave now and then.

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The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island full of lush green grasses, trees, and greenery that takes your breath away (literally). The poverty was stunning, yet the people were kind, happy, and welcomed you with a smile or an “ola, mi amiga.” A twenty year old man sat next to my husband and I as we drank a beer each. Hubby bought the man one and I conversed with him, me with my minimal Spanish, he with his minimal English. It was fun to chat with him. After he told Dan and I we were old enough to be his parents, he gave me his phone number. LOL I guess I’m like a fine wine or an old cheddar, still kicking! HAHAHA

Smoggy street

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Along the journey we sucked in a ton of diesel fumes. There is no monitoring of exhaust in DR. Dan was told not to drink from the bottles of beer along the roadside as they use them to refill and sell new and used fuel. Sometimes they siphon it out of vehicles.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic

Susie’s secret garden: Building the entrance pond

Posted on Jan 04, 2009 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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The last post was so depressing that I wanted give you some Canary Candy. Here’s a timelapse series of photos on building our front entrance pond. We did this in December of 2007.

You can visit my YouTube channel to see my other vids, and also all the myriad favorites I’ve collected on YouTube on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, organic gardening, pesticides, meditation, silly humor, etc, etc, etc. I found one last night with two cats talking to each other that is one big huge LOL.

Love you guys. Stay safe out there! xoxo

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Leisure, Organic, Video

And the rain came down!

Posted on Dec 26, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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RAIN!!

We are having a huge rainstorm today! It’s been about 62 degrees all day and we’ve had at least 10 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Tonight we have thunder and lightening with a flash flood advisory. It’s been very dry for months and months so we almost forgot that we live in a rainforest! It feels like such a blessing.

The rain washed the air and made it so fresh and clean! I walked around outside with an umbrella several times today just to breathe in the beautiful air. Above is a photo out the back door of the downpour against the avocado tree.

Here I am all comfy cozy in the house today with the first fire of the season. Before you start wondering about how I can be around a fire with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: I close up all the windows on that side of the house and vent the windows on the far side, burn only natural wood (kiawe, a type of dense mesquite we harvested on the island of Molokai), and fully open the stove vent when I put in a new log so that all the smoke gets sucked up the chimney and doesn’t escape into the room. I brought the wood burning stove in from the mainland (Lopi), it’s one of the most fuel efficient on the market, and generates a lot of heat with very little fuel. It dries out the house beautifully and keeps the mold away. If I ever had to, I could cook on it. It’s also makes things very cozy on a wet, chilly day like today!

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Tags: Air, Garden, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Mele Kalikimaka!

Posted on Dec 25, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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Despite my being a Grinchess about Christmas, the universe gave me two beautiful gifts on Christmas Eve: I discovered that my hen Katie had laid an egg (the first in months since the girls went on what I thought was going to be a total winter vacay), and then during my evening walk at the park, I found a majiro bird nest. Majiros, also called White Eye, are a teeny-tiny green bird, and they make teeny-tiny nests into which they deposit two teeny-tiny eggs. I don’t know how they are ever successful at keeping the babies inside, and they are often blown down out of the trees when it’s windy. I am a collector of nests, so it was treasure. Here’s a (silly) composite of my gifts.

Mele Kalikimaka to me!

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Tags: Air, Garden, Leisure

Morning sun on the entrance pond

Posted on Dec 22, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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The entrance pond was so beautiful this morning that I snapped a photo to share with you. The comets are getting so big!

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Organic

Sunbathing chickens

Posted on Dec 20, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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Chickens are incredibly industrious creatures, and get a lot done in a day. My girls forage, lay eggs (not in the winter), take dust baths, rest, maintain their pecking order, forage some more, gobble up some corn or oats before bed, and get themselves back in the coops before dark. They are sensible and practical in all they do and much better than I at time management.

One of the most endearing things they do is take a daily sun bath. I love watching them lay in the sun, flopped on their sides, wings fanned out. They always do it together, blissing out in the warmth. I find great peace in watching them.

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Pet Care

A shot of fresh air: Tree and tire swing

Posted on Nov 21, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

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Banyan at the park

This banyan limb and tire swing are at the far corner of the park where we take our evening walks. The photo I took this evening doesn’t do the weather justice because it was very windy and blustery as a storm from the south blew through the islands today. The tire was spinning round and round. The air was fresh and full of storm energy! I started out feeling lazy and dull, but after six laps around the park, I felt rejuvenated and happy!

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Tags: Air, Fresh Air Photos, Healthy Living, Leisure, Photography

A glimpse of my secret garden

Posted on Nov 14, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Organic Gardening, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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The outside world is filled with toxic chemicals that are dangerous to me, but I have created my own private, safe universe in my garden. Come take a look at a few of my favorite things: Lucy, the alpha hen; limes; a mynah at the bird bath; Lydia and her daughter Jolie; an Indonesian ginger flower; Jolie looking for treats; and a water lily with comets. Ahhhhhhh. Where is your safe place?

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Nontoxic, Organic, Pet Care, Photography

Relaxing in the garden

Posted on Nov 02, 2008 by Susie Collins in Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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Ahhhhh

Occasionally, I remember to STOP, sit, and enjoy the garden. Usually, my concept of leisure in the garden is an “active leisure,” where puttering around is the relaxation. But this evening I took the time to sit in the rocker on the front porch and chill. It was cloudy and overcast, so the colors aren’t too vibrant, but still, you get the idea.

As you regular visitors to The Canary Report can see, last weekend we ripped out the groundcover that surrounded the pond. It did look beautiful, but it was always galloping out of control and took more maintenance than I was willing to give it. So for now, the cement tiles holding up the terrace are visible, but we will soon remedy that with more well behaved plantings.

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Tags: Air, Fresh Air Photos, Garden, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Organic

Nontoxic sex toys, condoms and lubricants

Posted on Oct 09, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Healthy Living, Leisure

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What’s good for the vagina & the penis is good for the planet!

While maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for many people, one toxic aspect of daily life is continuously overlooked: the sex industry.

Most latex condoms, including Trojan, contain casein, a milk protein, and also may be tested on animals. Many water-based lubes contain paraben, a preservative potentially linked to breast cancer. Sex toys such as dildos and vibrators can contain phthalates, oil-based chemicals used to soften plastics, which get absorbed into users’ bodies and can cause a range of damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive system.

However, there are a number of healthy, environmentally-friendly items on the market. Pure Pleasure on Church Street in downtown Santa Cruz carries a multitude of vegan products including condoms, lubrication and toys.

“All of our products in general are body-friendly,” said Amy Baldwin, co-owner of Pure Pleasure.

Baldwin said that before Pure Pleasure, there were no sex shops that catered to the vegan and body-conscious demographic of Santa Cruz.

“We don’t do anything that has phthalates,” Baldwin said. “It’s very Santa Cruz to go down that path.”

Vegan and eco-friendly sex products are nontoxic and generally made with organic and animal-free ingredients. Glyde is the only condom brand registered with the Vegan Society, and some popular vegan lubricants include Sliquid H2O and Hathor Aphrodisia, all of which are sold at Pure Pleasure.

“In my experience, vegan condoms are about the same as your average latex condom, if not better,” Baldwin said. “It’s a softer, thinner kind of latex feel.”

Among lubricants sold at Pure Pleasure is Hathor Aphrodisia, made by a Vancouver-based company that uses certified organic and plant-based ingredients with no paraben, synthetic fragrances, colors or animal products.

Link to City on the Hill Press for full story and more info on nontoxic sex products

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Tags: Chemicals, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, Nontoxic

This evening’s walk

Posted on Sep 29, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

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This is the park where I walk most evenings. We go at the very end of the day just as it gets dark. It’s a county park about a mile from my home–it’s an old baseball field chock full of history in our community from the days when sugar was king and every plantation community had a baseball team. The oldtimers tell some great stories!

My newest fascination is with the bats that join us in the evening just as it darkens too much to see well. How I wish I could catch them on film! They dart and flutter catching bugs way up high. They are my new favorite animal.

Anyway, here are three snaps: one of the park when we first arrived, then one toward the ocean (the direction we call makai), and one toward the mountain (mauka) as darkness fell. I should go get some photos in the full light one day so you can see how much prettier it is than these show!