Relaxing in the garden

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.

Nontoxic sex toys, condoms and lubricants

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

Fashionable MCS terrorist goes for a bike ride

Lou Cheese, at Living w/ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, catches his reflection in a bus window while taking a bike ride in Cleveland.

Too bad you couldn’t see the bike. I’ve started wrapping the respirator ensemble in a color-matching silk scarf for bike rides. I can only imagine what the people inside the bus were thinking, probably something like “Well, it’s nice to see the terrorists are making an effort to be a little more fashionable now.”

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A special treat: Hawaiian Hoary Bats!

We took a walk this evening at Ookala Park– a large, flat park about a mile up the road with the ocean on one side and green grassy cow pastures on the other–, and as it got dark, we had a special treat: Two beautiful Hawaiian Hoary Bats circling way up high overhead.

I got so excited because although I’ve lived in Hawai‘i since the age of six, I’ve only seen Hawaiian bats a couple of times, and never here on The Big Island. They were so beautiful (sorry, I didn’t have my camera), their dark bat silhouette against the darkening sky.

I’m so glad I went on the walk– I almost didn’t go because I wasn’t feeling so hot today. But my husband always tells me: When you don’t want to walk is when you need it most. So I said, “Let’s go take a walk!” I fed the chickens and off we went.

You never know when life is going to give you a special treat.

This photo and description are from the Honolulu Zoo website.

Hawaiian Hoary Bat

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

The Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) is a member of the Family Vespertilionidae (Common or Vesper bats). It is described as a subspecies of the North American Hoary Bat. Hoary means frosted, and refers to the white tips of the body hairs.

Native Hawaiians named the bat Opeapea, referring to the bats half-taro leaf, canoe sail, cross, or radially spoked outline.

Bats are still commonly seen on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui, but are rarely seen on Oahu. The bat is considered to be Hawaii’s only native land mammal. There is fossil evidence of at least one other Hawaiian bat species. Several failed attempts at deliberate introduction of non-native bat species have been reported.

BEHAVIOR:

Usually considered solitary, Hawaiian bats are assumed to roost in trees and have only rarely been seen exiting lava tubes, leaving cracks in rock walls, or hanging from man made structures. They are found in both wet and dry areas, and from sea level to 13,000 ft.

Link to more info and photos.

Sunday morning in my secret garden

I spent some of my Sunday morning visiting the front entrance pond, tea and camera at hand. The fish get so excited anticipating food, voracious little buggers. The mosaic plant is outrageously beautiful since I got control of the summer algae bloom. And the variegated leaves of the day water lilies are spectacular. Everything is blooming today. Wow.

From top to bottom: View down the front stoop to the pond and gardens (bird bath to the right), variegated water lily leaves and orange comets, lavendar water hyacinth bloom and yellow mosaic plant blooms, close up of mosaic plant (is that beautiful or what?!), side view of whole pond.

Crafting in a nontoxic AND sustainable way

I love to craft things and have dabbled in dollmaking, water colors, basket weaving, sewing, jewelry making and more. Actually, my addiction to gardening and tending my ponds is an extension of that type of leisure because both those activities involve a lot of creativity and design, too.

Crafting for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity can be tricky because we have reactions to so many art materials and media. But we can enjoy these activities in a chemical-free way by choosing the right products. There are alternative paints and paper, organic fabrics and yarn, wooden buttons and boxes, nontoxic glues and adhesives.

The blog Crafting a Green World is a cornucopia of green crafting ideas that are not only nontoxic, but sustainable as well, taking our personal concerns about synthetic chemicals one step further: what’s good for us is good for the planet.

Crafting a Green World

Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials. Find knitting, sewing, crocheting, and other project ideas for eco-friendly and fashionable clothes, crafts, gifts and more.

Green is the new black, as they say, but what in the world does that mean? It means living sustainably is the “cool” thing to do, but some of us have been doing these things for years. Take crafters for example - many of us keep scraps of fabrics from other projects for future use, “frog” old sweaters and scarves to have fresh yarn to work with, and tweak items and patterns we find to make them just right for our tastes.

The renewed popularity of green living has benefits for creative folks, including new sustainable fabrics and innovate ideas for reusing a plethora of resources. For those of us who enjoy being a part of the creative process or are beginning to experiment with do-it-yourself projects, then Crafting a Green World is for you!

We feature everything from eco-patterns, supplies, and creators to book reviews and event/sale notices. Crafting a Green World (CAGW) is your #1 resource for organic, natural, and recycled crafty projects, products, media, and businesses.

Whether you are a novice, a pro, or somewhere in between, Crafting a Green World has the sustainable crafty content you are looking for.

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A shot of fresh air: Queen Liliuokalani Park

This is my favorite park in Hilo: Queen Liliuokalani Park. It’s a Japanese garden, in fact the only truly authentic Japanese garden in the country because of its composition and location: it has views of both mountains (Mauna Kea) and ocean (Hilo Bay). When I took this shot, the tide was high (the bay is behind me, it feeds this shallow lagoon in the park), so the inner walkways of the park are covered with water. I watched this couple wade out to their island respite, sit and take in the view. They looked very peaceful and content.

How to make a detox bath

I’ve taken my share of detox baths. A detox bath is a little different from a plain everyday bath because you need to make the water hotter than usual and rather than using froo-froo additives like essential oils (if you can tolerate them) you use salts that draw out toxins.

I close up all the doors and windows in the bathroom to keep in the heat. I like to use a generous amount of Epsom salts in the water: I buy it in half-gallon milk carton type containers and use half a carton for one bath. It’s good idea to use filtered water (my water is double filtered at the main pipe before it comes in the house).

The key is to get the bath water as hot as you can without getting burned. I make a kettle full of boiling water, wrap it in a towel and add it to the bath water periodically to keep it really hot. I keep a large towel draped over my whole body to hold in the heat. The goal is to sweat and sweat and sweat for about a half hour.

After drying off, I take a special body brush and brush my limbs in an invigorating sweeping motion from the tips toward my heart to get the lymphatic system stimulated– it feels great! You can get a dry body brush at your local health food store (it’s different than the type of brush for washing yourself).

More on Epsom salts with some history and recipes.

Photo and more good stuff on Epsom salts and detoxing.

Use the Green Vacation Hub to find MCS-safe lodging

The Green Vacation Hub makes traveling safer for people with MCS.

The Green Vacation Hub is a great website for finding green lodging while traveling. They offer special screening for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

A growing number of children and adults have asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities (or MCS).

We at the Hub know that this can pose additional challenges to traveling, so we have set up the site to make it easy to narrow down to vacation accommodations that meet your specific needs.

Here’s how:

Once you have used the site map/search to narrow down to the listings in your destination city, you will notice that along the left a variety of criteria will appear. You can use the criteria on the left to narrow down those listings that meet your needs or the needs of your family members.

• If you are allergic to animals, you can use the drop-down menu along the left to narrow down to listings that never allow pets
• If it’s important to you that your accommodations are fragrance free, choose the fragrance free checkbox to narrow to listings that passed the fragrance free category.
• If it’s important to you that your accommodations are careful about air quality issues, check the air quality to narrow to listings that passed the air quality category.

Remember, businesses need to pass only three of five questions in a category in order to qualify for that category. Be sure you read their Green Profile on their full page listing to make sure they have answered Yes to the questions that are important to you. Click here to view the questionnaire that members fill out when they join.

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What makes green tea so special?

I am a green tea addict. It’s always the lure of a mugful (no weenie tea cups for me!) of hot green tea that gets me to roll out of bed in the morning. Truth be told: I used to buy expensive organic green tea at the health food store, but now I get the less expensive at Cost U Less. I’m hoping the health benefits outweigh the non-organic status.

My first brew of the day is a double-bag potful steeped for about five minutes, then poured into a huge latte cup and blessed with a spoonful of honey and a generous dose of soy milk. Yum. I toodle out to the front lanai trying not to spill, settle into the wicker chair, and read the morning paper.

So what’s so great about green tea? Well, it has amazing health benefits. Here’s a good description on The Miracle of Green Tea:

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the “French Paradox.” For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don’t other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Bottoms up!

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Photo by tim at Flickr, clockwise from bottom: Coco Mint green tea, Genmai Cha green tea, Citron green tea.

Coming up for air: Be the dolphin

Wild dolphins swimming at the bow of a boat. Heaven. Careful, it’s addicting.

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Instant relaxation: Let go

07/15/08

Simple but powerful way to relaxation. Star gazing works, too. And don’t forget to breathe…

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Bloomin’ beautiful

07/07/08  This is a night blooming lily in the early morning shortly before closing up for the day. Tropical water lilies are either night blooming or day blooming, and go through the open & close cycle for three days before drooping underwater and pollinating the next blooms. I love walking around the gardens first thing every morning and checking on the ponds. There are always beautiful surprises to be found.

Pond therapy: Fish as ham

I know, I know, I told you yesterday that Saturday was house cleaning day. But of course I am procrastinating and playing with my ponds. This morning I found this beautiful, tiny, bright yellow bloom on the Mosaic plant and wanted to share it with you–awhile back I wrote about the wasps coming to drink by landing on the lovely swirled leafs, and I wanted you to see the little flower that pops up from time to time. The flower itself came out a little overexposed, but the fish were hamming it up so the shot was saved.

Pond therapy today was especially pleasurable because Thursday was a very rough day of recovery after getting exposed to something Wednesday at a meeting in town. Yesterday I still felt pretty crummy, but this morning I was back on my game. Outside in the sun and wind and fresh air made me feel so happy to be alive.

Finding nontoxic art supplies

My friends laugh at me because I do art work with good old fashioned Crayola crayons. I tried watercolors, took classes and everything, but the technique was too tedious to learn and I lost patience with it. But crayons are totally nontoxic, too, and I love the greasy texture of the forgiving medium.

I think most people think of crayons as limited to kids play. But as you can see, an adult can produce some childish art, too.

This is a crayon drawing I did years ago taken from a photograph of my dear friend Jeri, who sat in the crook of a tree at Zion National Park about halfway through our Thelma and Louise adventure to the Grand Canyon in 1994ish. (It was a challenge finding hotels that I could tolerate; she was so patient. Eventually we just went camping and slept in a tent.)

Anyway, look what I just found! A great selection of nontoxic art supplies at EcoArtSupplies.com.

Safe, sustainable fine art supplies for the American artist. At Eco Art Supplies, we’re bringing products to the fine arts community that are manufactured sustainably and responsibly. We are supporting the U.S. economy by providing you with the highest quality paints, mediums, drawing tools, papers and artists canvas that are made in America. Our goal is to eliminate the need to import art materials and to reduce our carbon output, hopefully, slowing the rate of global warming.

The U.S. manufacturers we showcase are manufacturing quality art supplies, in a way that doesn’t have negative impacts on the environment. That provides inspiration in itself!

We also support sustainable global development, choosing to offer products that come directly from small communities around the world by providing them with manufacturing oppurtunities and fair pay.

We provide all the information on the safety, techniques and responsible use and disposal of art materials.

You can be confidant that your dollars are helping build a better way to create art, that won’t have long term, negative impacts on your health and our global environment.

Hmmmmm… I wonder how much disposable income I have this month? Summer seems to get me in the mood to find the inner artist. My point is, it’s not about having talent or not, it’s about finding nontoxic ways to do the things that make you happy. I make dolls, too, but I will share that with you another day.

Link

Crayola by the way has a very fun website.

A shot of fresh air: New York Botanical Gardens

Today’s shot of fresh air comes from the New York Botanical Gardens, where I again took a walk alongside my hubby via the cell (walk through Longwood Gardens here). It was a quicker visit this time because of the time difference; by the time I was up, he was almost finished with the visit. But I was able to tag along to the ponds (of course!) that are located right outside the Conservatory.

The design ideas that captured our attention at these incredible ponds was the use of very large pots, placed inside the ponds with things like bamboo, cats tail, reed-like orchids, and spider lilies. For our next pond project here at the homestead, which will be a free form pond, the largest yet, we hope to be able to duplicate the look.

These gardens also use the black dye in the water to keep down algae growth and highlight the plants. I looking forward to my jar arriving in the mail!

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A shot of fresh air: Longwood Gardens

Today’s shot of fresh air comes from Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania! That’s because I was on the cell today off and on for over two hours with my husband, Scott, while he strolled through the incredible duPont estate.

In 1906, Pierre S. du Pont purchased the Peirce Arboretum to save its trees from being cut for lumber. Over the next nearly half century, Mr. du Pont developed Longwood Gardens into what it is today, a magnificent horticultural showplace.

Exquisite flowers, majestic trees, dazzling fountains, extravagant conservatory, starlit theatre, thunderous organ—all describe the magic of Longwood Gardens, a horticultural showstopper where the gardening arts are encased in classic forms and enhanced by modern technology. Many generations helped create Longwood Gardens, but one individual—Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954), industrialist, conservationist, farmer, designer, impresario, and philanthropist—made the most enduring contribution.

Scott visited the conservatory’s water lily display, Mediterranean Garden, Palm House, Bonsai display, Fruit House (the original purpose of the estate), Cascade Garden, Tropical Terrace, Orchid House, and more. Then he found more water gardens outside (some with HUGE water platters, below), and hunted until he found two tree houses (one at left), dozens of spectacular fountains and more.

He also attended a lecture about water gardens, and he stood very close to the docent and let me listen—we learned all kinds of things about lilies and other water plants. The most interesting thing we learned about was a nontoxic black dye for ponds that keeps the algae growth down (a constant struggle with our ponds) and the dark color creates a beautiful foil for the plants. He purchased some in the gift shop to bring home.

These photos are from the Longwood website. As Scott walked through the gardens and talked to me about what he was seeing, I found the matching photos on their website, so I could see what he was describing. It was as if we took the walk together, very fun– at one point, I described the plant that was coming up ahead of him! I’ll post some of Scott’s pics when he sends.

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Bathed in lavender

I’m a huge bath advocate. There’s just nothing like immersing yourself in hot water to melt away stress. Baths are also great for detox using Epsom salts or Dead Sea salt in water hot enough to make you sweat for about 20 minutes.

All the water coming into my home is filtered at the point of entry with a prefilter and a charcoal filter for sediment & chlorine.

Here’s a divine lavender essential oil bath recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (or more) Epsom salts
10 drops (or more) lavender essential oil
2 tbs (or more) olive oil

Directions

Make a small mound of Epsom salts in bottom of tub. Make a small well and pour in olive oil. Add lavender essential oil. Fill tub with water and enjoy!

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Porches: A breath of fresh air

The Washington Post has an interesting story today about porch trends. The porch in this photo looks so inviting! I can imagine myself sitting there all day with my laptop. As long as the air quality is good, the outdoor-in concept is the way to go. Fresh air rules!

To be sure, a screened porch has practical appeal. But another draw is its modest, old-fashioned charm, the jog of a childhood memory that occurs each time the screen door slaps against its frame. For both reasons, homeowners look to these sheltering spaces as the perfect place to while away the days of summer and beyond.

“We live on the porch all summer long and into the fall,” Henning says. “We have meals, relax, entertain and sit during rainstorms. . . . It reminds me of a summer camp.”

We have our own version of porches here in Hawaii, I’ll post photos of my garden room as the blog progresses– not so fancy, but lots of fresh air and a charm of its own, island style.

Link.

A shot of fresh air: Rebirth

‘Anaeho‘omalu Bay, Kohala

In the summer of 1997, I spent many, many late afternoons at this beach. It’s an hour’s drive from my home, but three or four times a week, I got in the car and drove to the bay, spent 45 minutes briskly walking the shore line, 15 minutes swimming, then sat and watched the sunset, and drove home in time for dinner.

The previous two years had been spent in a quasi retreat, safe in the confines of my home, trying to understand the chemical sensitivities that had started to plague me several years before and trying to figure out how to chart the rest of my life.

The summer at the beach was better than any of the many therapies I had sought, including acupuncture, Rolfing, controlled diet, Epsom salt baths, alternative dentistry, and more. The fresh air was like a tonic and I cannot even begin to express in words the effect of the healing waters of the ocean. I was blissed out.

It was on one of my walks, here on this beach, when I came up with the idea to return to school and finish up my English degree. I thought I’d go back to school and hone my writing skills. Writing, I thought, could be done in the safety of my home (away from the myriad chemicals and synthetic perfumes that get me sick), and the miracle of electronic communication would be my conduit to a new profession.

And that’s just what I did, graduating from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in 1999 with a degree in English and a certificate in Women’s Studies. As luck would have it, the university hired me soon after graduation to help with PR and communications, so I didn’t even have to stress too much about finding work. (And they allow me a home office!)

So this beach holds a very special place in my heart because it put the wind back in my sails and showed me a new way to tack through life.