Susie’s secret garden: Building the entrance pond

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

Growing trends in healthy house construction

Paula Baker-LaPorte at Healthy House Institute writes about Building Biology and the Healthy House.

“Building related illness, 20th (21st) century disease, multiple chemical sensitivities, sick building syndrome, environmental illness: these terms are recent additions to our vocabulary,” she writes. “Until about 25 years ago, indoor air pollution was a very limited phenomenon.”

But, she says, three basic things have changed in the evolution of building technology resulting in the current widespread concern about the environmental quality inside our homes: the very fabric of our homes, products that have a negative and costly impact on our health, and performance demands on our buildings such as dealing with trapped moisture from sealed bathrooms.

In response to these problems, she sees two different models emerging for a healthy home. One– the most common– is to seal the home very tightly on the inside, so nothing toxic from the building materials can leak into the living space. (This is akin to what people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity try to achieve with foil barriers.) And the other, more in line with what chemically sensitive people would like to see, is to build with nontoxic materials in the first place.

But the natural building materials solution is difficult to implement, most notably because of current building codes backed by corporate interests. Still, Baker-LaPorte sees building trends moving in the right direction.

…building systems that use natural materials as their base, once the norm for us and still the norm for the majority of humankind, are viewed with great suspicion and skepticism in the current mainstream building culture. If one chooses to build with natural materials one quickly learns that natural building systems have become the orphans of the modern building industry. Whereas huge corporate resources back industrialized building products, funding for code required testing of natural non-proprietary materials has, to date, been a grass roots pass-the-hat affair. Even though people have surrounded themselves with natural permeable materials throughout human history, and even though enduring models of these buildings are found throughout the world, mainstream building practices and codes are dominated by manufactured building commodities that are laboratory tested, standardized, stamped, packaged and shipped. When one applies for a building permit for a home to be made with natural building materials, the applicant may be rejected, or if permitted, the building may bear a dubious “experimental” status.

The natural building movement championed by the theories of Building Biology and a small but growing sector of environmentally concerned builders, designers and homeowners is however gaining momentum. And I believe there is a synthesis at hand between the two seemingly opposite approaches to healthy building. A natural home equipped with all the amenities of modern life faces many of the same indoor environmental qualities as does a sealed construction, and ventilation systems are becoming more common in natural buildings. On the other hand manufactured, code pre-approved permeable wall systems such as aerated autoclaved concrete are being introduced in to the mainstream market place. Straw bale construction has now been tested and codified in many locations. More and more construction products now advertise being “environmentally friendly” and “non-toxic”. Green building rating systems that reward healthier building practices are springing up all over the country. Regardless of the starting point we are moving towards healthier homes that are freer of toxic chemicals, more energy efficient and kinder on the environment.

Link to full article

Photo of straw bale house in Taos by mari-posa. The straw bales are covered over by adobe, and it’s solar powered, with a cistern to recycle rainwater.

Beautiful rainstorm washes away firecracker smoke

I made this video in my backyard at about 5:00 p.m. today when the rain returned and washed away all the toxic firecracker smoke. This is the time of day when I put the chickens to bed, feed the fish, and close everything up in the back for the night.

After I came in the house, this rain turned into a huge, thunderous storm with blinding lightening and earth shaking thunder. I felt thrilled and in awe of the power of nature to cleanse and recharge the earth. I take it as a good and auspicious omen at the start of 2009.

Happy New Year!

How to sew a sexy organic corset dress

Here’s the newest creation from Leslie!

This ‘corset dress’ is made with 100% organic cotton fabric with low impact dyes sourced locally from Spiritex for under $5! It’s made from end of the mill scraps - and I can say this project is not easy at all! lol - but is well worth the time. I made this project as a challenge to myself to see if I could possibly take very boring tan checkered pattern fabric and turn it into something sexy and fun - the style is inspired by the many drawings of woman’s clothing I did in the 80’s as a child. PS- You will want to add a zipper, side ties or some other open/close device on the sides if you don’t use stretch fabric.

xoxo- Leslie

The Oko Box, Leslie’s eco-boutique of hip, fun clothing

The Oko Box Blog, an eco-friendly interactive commentary on organic clothing, environment, pollution, health, organic food, fair trade and organic farming.

Find more of Leslie’s DIY videos at her YouTube channel Ecofashionista

How to sew an organic cotton jumpsuit

Here’s the ever-creative Leslie showing us how to sew an organic cotton jumpsuit. So cute!!

This is a simple pattern for a jumper mini skirt, with racer back style. It’s made in 100% organic cotton, low impact dye and was scrap fabric sold by Spiritex (a local organic cotton weaver). I was inspired to make this style by the re-surge of 80’s gear, the Ting Ting’s video, and my friend Bort who wears overalls.

xoxo Leslie

The Oko Box eco-boutique

The Oko Box Blog

Link

And more DIY 100% cotton sewing projects from Leslie at her YouTube channel Ecofashionista

A walk through England’s Savernake Forest

C’mon, let’s take a walk and get some fresh air!

A Sunday afternoon stroll through the magical Savernake Forest in the amazing county of Wiltshire, in England.

Link

Pesticide bans boost local economies

A letter to the editor in the Peterborough Examiner argues that regional pesticide bans give a big boost to the local economy.

The Ontario government’s new lawn pesticide ban - which should come into effect in early 2009 - will do much to protect human and environmental health. But it’s also becoming clear the legislation will be a boon to our economy-boosting business and creating green jobs.

Communities across Canada which already have pesticide restrictions have enjoyed a major expansion of their lawn care sector. For example, in the five years following a pesticide ban in Halifax the number of lawn care firms in the city grew from 118 to 180 -an increase of 53 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. The number of employees in the sector also grew. Stats Can also reports the number of landscaping and lawn care businesses in Toronto has grown each year since its ban.

Why does the non-toxic route help the economy? For one thing, it relies less on chemicals and more on workers -meaning it creates local employment. It also requires some specialized knowledge of plant and soil ecology which homeowners often lack -hence their increased reliance on organic professionals.

Ontario’s organic lawn care providers are booming. Barriebased Turf Logic Inc. will be doubling its business by next spring. Oshawa-based Environmental Factor has grown its business 10- fold over the last eight years.

It’s also the case that many organic lawn products (such as corn gluten meal, horticultural vinegar, compost, and beneficial nematodes) are produced right here in Ontario -which means more business for our manufacturers. (By contrast, many of the toxic lawn chemicals are made in the U. S. or Europe.)

Two questions often raised during discussions of market change are, “Will the transition happen smoothly and will the new services be affordable?” In this case, the answer to both is yes.

More than five million Ontarians live in municipalities which already require non-toxic lawn care, Peterborough among them. So the industry already has the know-how and products to provide pesticide-free services province-wide. As well, major retailers are now committed to the non-toxic approach, meaning do-it-yourselfers have everything they require.

What about costs to the consumer? A recent survey of Ontario lawn companies showed the price of pesticide-free services is competitive with traditional services and is sometimes exactly the same. (One company charges $159.88 to treat a 2,500 square foot property - whichever service the customer picks.) And as more firms go organic, prices will drop. Non-toxic lawn care not only produces beautiful properties -just look at the Stratford Festival lawns, the campus of Trent University, or the grounds of the Ontario legislature -but is also very cost-effective.

Scientists have long told us that pesticides are associated with cancer (such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma), neurological illness (such as Parkinson’s disease), and birth defects. Health authorities - including the Canadian Cancer Society, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, and the Ontario College of Family Physicians - have long supported cosmetic pesticide bans.

But now we know that, in addition to its health benefits, going pesticide-free also makes good economic sense.

GIDEON FORMAN Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Photo by sissi de kroon

Morning sun on the entrance pond

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

Winter Solstice, a time to celebrate the Light

Today is Winter Solstice, the first day of winter, and following the longest night of the year, the time to celebrate coming back into the Light.

We like to do a garden project on Winter Solstice, and this year we are building a new veggie garden! We have to fence it in so the chickens don’t make trouble, and this time around we are going to make raised beds to weather any flooding.

So, we started with the fence posts around the perimeter, and Friday we got some eucalyptus planks for the beds (a gift from a friend!). We worked until dark to make the first borders as you can see from the last photo.

Today we’ll level and set the borders, and if we have time, put up the fence. Then we’ll fill up the beds with media from the mulch pile, and start building up the soil inside the beds so they are ready for spring planting.

Come spring we should be harvesting a lot more of our own food!

Be well, dear flock, star warm and safe wherever you are on this Winter Solstice. xoxo

Natural pest control: Boric acid

This is what happens when you live a nontoxic life: You get ants in the honey jar. Poor things, what a way to go, drowning in a vat of honey.

Listen, I love insects, but I really do not want ants and cockroaches in my kitchen. Since I do not want any toxic chemicals in my house either, the way I control ants and cockroaches is with boric acid. Boric acid is considered safe to use as a household insecticide and I’ve never experienced Multiple Chemical Sensitivity symptoms being around it. That said, I’m careful with it and don’t let it get on my skin.

I make a mixture of equal parts boric acid and powdered sugar, mix it up and put in in yogurt container tops, and then place them under the sink and in the back of cabinets. If I have a particular invasion of ants, which can happen in times of very wet or very dry weather, I put the mixture directly in the ant trail.

The little buggers gobble it up and take it back to the nest, and in a matter of a couple days, the whole colony is destroyed. An initial application will last a year or two. Then when I see them return (as in my honey jar), I make up a new boric acid and powdered sugar mixture and refill the receptacles.

By the way, the trick to success is the powdered sugar. It works much better than granulated. And the mixture also gets rid of cockroaches, but doesn’t harm our precious geckos at all.

What do you guys use to control bugs in your homes?

How to sew sexy organic cotton lingerie

Leslie, our favorite MCS Pin-up Girl and now our favorite Bond Girl, shows us how to make another lingerie set for pennies. Okay, so everybody has fallen in love with Leslie by now, right?

This is part 4 in my organic cotton lingerie series! I am learning to sew by using cheap locally sourced scrap fabric - this organic cotton outfit was made for $3.50. The top is a strapless tube top that ties in the back - with pleated ruffles along the edges. The bottoms are a boy short style with drawstring tie at the waist and pleated ruffle on the bottom. Hope you like the video!

xoxo- Leslie

The Oko Box
The Oko Box Blog

Link to Leslie’s YouTube channel Ecofashionista

Organic Cotton Lingerie Part 3

Organic Cotton Lingerie Part 2

Organic Cotton Lingerie Part 1

How to sew organic cotton camisole and shorties

So here’s the third in Leslie’s series on sewing your own organic cotton lingerie. Over at Leslie’s blog The Oko Box Blog, I commented on this video, about how fearless and gutsy she is, so true to her nontoxic fabric creed. She commented back:

“I would like to think I am making a few statements at once…
1. Buy only organic
2. learn creative skills
3. use what you have laying around
4. don’t buy into the marketing hype from big companies
5. don’t be a prude ….”

In Hawaii, we call people like Leslie “rascal.” Even though she has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity from severe chemical injury, along with a few other chronic health conditions, her spirit is strong and bright and she inspires all of us to push through our disability and PRODUCE. She does it all with warmth, smarts and a good dose of rascal.

About this most recent video, she says:

Here is part 3 of my organic lingerie series - learning to sew using locally sourced organic cotton scrap fabric that is dirt cheap, and turning it into something cool! This project is an easy camisole and shorty set with side ties, ribbons, and scrunch on the sides of the top.

Link

The Oko Box, Leslie’s hip, fun and practical nontoxic clothing boutique

The Oko Box Blog, an eco-friendly interactive commentary on organic clothing, environment, pollution, health, organic food, fair trade and organic farming. On today’s post, she’s put a fox on her undies (I told you she was a rascal).

How to sew an organic nightie

Here’s another video from Leslie, this one on sewing a darling organic cotton nightie. How cute is this?

This nightie was sewn from 100% undyed organic scrap fabric purchased for $1.75, and organic lace trim! The drawstring ties at the neckline are made from soy yarn, crocheted with a simple chain stitch. A really easy sewing project that makes a quick, comfy & sexy nightie to sleep in. xoxo- Leslie

The Oko Box

The Oko Box Blog

Link

Honey is a natural preservative and sweetner

I love honey! I have it in my tea every morning, and put it on toast, English muffins, bagels, and the occasional peanut butter and banana sandwich. (LOL, I just made myself hungry writing that.)

I also add it to my favorite homemade salad dressing, which I make by blending olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dollop of organic mustard and another dollop of honey.

So guess what? A recent study shows that the added honey is helping the salad dressing stay fresh while making it sweet and also giving me some antioxidants. Ooooooo, another reason to love honey!

Note to Commercial Food Scientists: You don’t need to put nasty chemical additives and high fructose corn syrup in salad dressing. Cut it out!

Antioxidant-rich honey is a healthy alternative to chemical additives and refined sweeteners in commercial salad dressings, said a new University of Illinois study.

“To capitalize on the positive health effects of honey, we experimented with using honey in salad dressings,” said Nicki Engeseth, a U of I associate professor of food chemistry. “We found that the antioxidants in honey protected the quality of the salad dressings for up to nine months while sweetening them naturally.”

Engeseth’s study substituted honey for EDTA, an additive used to keep the oils in salad dressings from oxidizing, and high-fructose corn syrup, used by many commercial salad-dressing producers to sweeten their salad dressing recipes.

“We chose clover and blueberry honeys for the study after an analysis of the sweetening potential, antioxidant activity, and phenolic profiles of 19 honeys with varying characteristics,” said the scientist.

The dressings were also compared to a control dressing that contained ingredients found in current commercial salad dressings, she said.

Engeseth explained a problem the scientists encountered in using honey in a salad dressing system. “Salad dressings are emulsions-they contain oil and water; and to keep these ingredients together in one phase, manufacturers rely on emulsifiers and thickening agents to avoid thinning of the dressing and separation of the oil and water phase,” she said.

When the researchers found that enzymes in the honey broke the emulsion by attacking the starch that was used to thicken the dressing, they came up with a new formulation that used xanthan gum as a thickening agent, which they then used in all the dressings, she said.

The researchers then stored the dressings under various conditions, including 37 degrees Celsius (accelerated storage) for six weeks and 23 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius for one year, followed by an evaluation of their oxidative stability.

“After nine months of storage, both types of honey were as effective as EDTA in protecting against oxidation or spoilage. Blueberry honey performed slightly better than clover,” she said.

Engeseth said that many consumers prefer products with natural ingredients and that salad dressings made with honey should appeal to these consumers.

“There’s such a wide range of salad dressings on the market–some unique salad dressings as well as inexpensive products that perform beautifully. If manufacturers are interested in developing salad dressings that have a healthy twist, we’ve demonstrated that using honey as both an antioxidant and a sweetener is one way to do this,” she said.

The article was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Co-authors are Carolyn Rasmussen of Kraft Foods, Sophia Leung of Newlywed Foods, Lia M. Andrae-Nightingale, a former U of I graduate student, and Xiao-Hong Wang and Shelly J. Schmidt of the University of Illinois.

Link

Photo by Blentley

Thanks, Linda!

How to make organic cotton lingerie

Leslie Richard, who is a regular commenter here on The Canary Report and the proprietor of The Oko Box, an online organic clothing boutique, just put out a great vid on making lingerie out of organic cotton.

I have been teaching myself to sew using mainly scraps of organic cotton fabric bought cheaply from a local fabric maker… so this undies/lingerie/bikini/lounge set only cost about $2 !!! Enjoy the process and the final product!

And leave links to your eco craft projects in the comments section!!! xoxo- Leslie www.

oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com

www.theokobox.com

Link to vid on YouTube

Link to vid on One True Media (different music!)

By the way, I LOVE Leslie’s YouTube channel ecofashionista.

Where to find an organic Christmas tree

Having a holiday tree may be a problem for anyone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity whether or not the tree is organic, especially if the person’s sensitivity is so exquisite as to include natural aromatics in addition to synthetic chemicals.

But if you can tolerate pines and really want a tree for the holidays, then an organic tree is surely the way to go. If you are wondering where you can find one, Green Promise has put together an extensive resource list for Organic Christmas Trees.

Green Promise scoured the Web to bring you this list of organic Christmas tree farms including low-spray and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Christmas trees. Farms that are certified organic or practice organic methods but are not yet certified appear in bold. All farms listed have been contacted by Green Promise and have provided information on their farming methods. Farms are sorted by state, then by city, then farm name. Call before heading out to check pricing and availability of organic Christmas tree stock. Most Christmas tree farms are open weekends starting the day after Thanksgiving and during the week by appointment. After the holidays, be sure your tree is properly recycled.

Full resource list at Green Promise.

Photo by Sierra Romeo.

Organic farming at Boggy Creek Farm

Organic farmer Larry Butler of Boggy Creek Farm in Austin, Texas, tells us about organic farming. He explains that an organic farm uses not only organic feritlizers, but also Integrated Pest Management. He points out that farms using chemical pesticides also still experience bug problems.

“Chemicals are not the panacea for farming,” he says. “Instead of chemical fertilizers and chemical herbicides and things like that, sometimes we’ll use vinegar for an herbicide, it’s just like Round-Up.”

Link

Volcano Garden Arts

Volcano Garden Arts, photos and vid by moi, Susie.

On Sunday, I went south to Volcano Village for the annual art tour held on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Volcano is a beautiful little village, close to the active volcano, that over the years has grown into an incredible artist community. The annual art tour is set up so you can walk or drive to several homes in succession and view the artwork, visit with the artists, and purchase things if you like.

The weather was perfect, but the vog (volcanic emissions) was very bad, so my husband and I did a combination of walking and driving so I could catch by breath. It wasn’t the best environment for a person with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, but I was willing to risk not feeling well because we have so much fun visiting people’s homes, enjoying the art and looking at the beautiful gardens.

Our favorite stop each year is at artist Ira Ono’s place, Volcano Garden Arts, where he has a large gallery filled with not only his fabulous creations but also many other local artists’ work. Ira (at left) is the most gracious host you could imagine, and it’s been fun watching him grow his business and his gardens over the years. He has a brand new art studio, a cafe, living quarters and B & B, and our favorite part: a beautiful garden filled with eclectic art of Asian to whimsy. Everywhere you look, there is something fun and beautiful to see.

I took almost 100 photos and made this video to share Volcano Art Gardens with you. The mask on the tree trunk at 1:33 is Ira’s work.

Thanks, Leslie, for inspiring me to make videos like this!

Link

Tofu-veggie stir fry

This recipe from Rachel MacIntyre at The Friendly Kitchen is pretty much exactly how and what I like to cook. Local food here in Hawaii has lots of stir fry dishes, all basically chopped veggies with some sort of meat or tofu (I use tofu). The only changes to this recipe I might make are that I use olive oil instead of sesame, no onions, and instead of the sauce, I use plain organic tamari.

I’m a huge eater of broccoli and baby bok choy, and I use tons of garlic and ginger in lots of different dishes. But if you need it simpler, as I sometimes do, you can just fry up the tofu and add some broccoli and tamari, steam a few minutes and it’s done– it’s delicious just that simple.

For rice, I use basmati white or brown. If I’m feeling fancy, I might use jasmine.

TERIYAKI TOFU STIR-FRY WITH BROCCOLI, CARROTS, AND BABY BOK CHOY
serves 4

4-5 Tbs. Toasted Sesame Oil
1/2# extra firm organic tofu, drained 15 minutes, sliced very thin
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 bunch organic broccoli, cut into florets
3 organic carrots, peeled and cut into rounds on a bias
1 head baby bok choy, stems cut into matchsticks, leaves roughly chopped

Teriyaki Sauce:
2 Tbs. Mirin
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup wheat-free tamari

1. In a largish saute pan, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and saute on each side for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer tofu to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.

2. Return the pan with the sesame oil still in it to the stove. Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened. Add bok choy stems. When they begin to soften, add the broccoli and carrots.

3. As the broccoli and carrots are cooking, dissolve the cornstarch in the mirin in a glass measuring cup. Add agave and tamari to the measuring cup and set aside.

4. When broccoli and carrots are al dente(tender crisp), add bok choy leaves and stir. Cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the sauce, and just as it begins to thicken, remove from heat. Toss tofu into the pan, stir it all around, and serve with steamed brown rice.

Link

Thanks, Rachel!

The beauty of backyard chickens

I’m a big proponent of backyard chickens. I have four hens, who wandered into my garden and heart a couple of years ago. I had absolutely no idea how to care for them, so we learned together. I learned just about everything from books, mostly Chickens in your Backyard: A Beginners Guide by Rick and Gail Luttmann.

Chickens (hens are what you want, no noisy roosters!) are fairly easy to keep: the trick is to give them a secure run with a good strong fence, a safe coop that locks up at night, and to keep it all clean and dry. (That’s my alpha hen Lucy at left. She’s sweet but very greedy!) Although it’s extremely difficult to raise them totally organically (the commercial food is not organic, and they need that for full nutrition), they give you eggs that are far superior to anything you can buy in the store.

Plus, the hens are extremely sociable, charming creatures and a delight to have around. I let mine lose in the yard every day at 4:00 p.m. until dark so they can gobble up bugs and greens to their heart’s content– they love that! I call them my ornamental chickens because they look so pretty out there in the garden.

There are many urban and even some rural communities that are restricted by law from having backyard chickens, but there also is a growing movement in many areas to get the laws changed! The above video is a humorous account of a community in Colorado that hopes to get the laws changed so peeps can have hens in their backyards. It’s a really cute portrayal of the pros, and points out the flaws of the “cons.”

I think it’s important for those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to take control of our food sources as much as possible. Even if you can’t have backyard chickens, you may be able to find eggs at your local farmer’s market from peeps who have their own flock. Commercial chickens are treated quite cruelly, so this is another reason not to buy commercial eggs. Even those labeled as “free range” are not running around in pastures.

And even if you can’t eat eggs, hens are still wonderful pets. And you could give away your eggs, or even sell them at local farmer’s markets yourself if you felt that industrious!

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