Balance...

My haiku for 2/8 - Tai chi mirrors life/ Expanding and contracting/ Around our center.

It has been a wild year so far. On the one hand, it has been the warmest year to date ever recorded worldwide, yet here it has been snowing on and off on the 21st & 22 of May! By now most of our garden is usually planted. Not this year.

From volcanoes to floods, earthquakes to tornadoes and other windstorms, nature has been wild much of the time. Our man made events, especially the massive oil rig collapse and resulting leak and slick in the Gulf of Mexico, are just as dramatic.
On top of that we focus on other less dramatic, but still incredibly important on other scales, affairs of politics, community, personal life. It's a wonder that any of us is able to maintain any cheerfulness at all. But it is the nature of living things to move toward the future with hopefulness and to seek balance and joy in their lives.

I have some favorite quotes to share:

"To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic." -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)

How can you work for change and to better your life without optimism?

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; and absurdities crept in; Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

How can we move forward if we are ever buried under the baggage of the fear of what we did wrong in the past?

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. and behold, service was joy." -Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)

How can you live life with joy until you recognize the acts you perform in life are joyous?

What is in the world, good and bad, is what is. With this knowledge you can go forth and do the best you can. It should not impede you from doing good for yourself, your family, your community and the world. Rather it should empower you to know that anything you can achieve counts. Everything counts. And every positive accomplishment, no matter how small, is an important move forward. It is our response to life that balances what happens.

Today is not the day I can plant my garden. It is freezing and too wet. The garden will go in very late, the fruit trees will bear little. But the soil is refreshed and the water table is restored after many dry years. The garden will catch up the way it does when the conditions warm to its liking.
And I am learning to be patient.

Sun Worship - of the Culinary Kind

Patience... must have patience. It is April 16 and it's cloudy again after only 1 day of sun (yesterday) in what seems like forever! It snowed on Easter and several times since, when it wasn't raining instead. I appreciate the good this is doing for the water table, but I WANT SUN!

I shouldn't complain too much. Despite a full work day, we took full advantage of the sunny day we were given, and I hear there is hope for the near future.
I had been hoarding large laundry items such as towels and the dog blanket for the car, and we were able to get these washed and dried outside on the line. In wet weather we have a retractable clothesline and a wooden drying rack upstairs that works great for most stuff.

We also got the solar oven set up and managed to get the two most common (for us) solar dishes cooked before the sky became covered with the high clouds of today's dreariness. First was rice.
By far the easiest way to get perfect brown rice is to bake it, and the solar oven is perfect. We try to use covered glass casseroles for most of our solar cooking, and this is no exception. In a 2 1/2 Qt. casserole place 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water. Cover and place in preheated solar oven and cook until all the water has disappeared. Voila` Perfect rice! See the wonderful Spanish Rice recipe from Morning Hill Cookbook on an earlier blog post (in the comments section).

Once the rice was done, we immediately replaced it with Banana Cake. Our family has never been big fans of banana bread (which would also bake fabulously in the solar oven), we prefer a cake to use up those bananas that have gotten softer than we like to eat fresh. We bake it in an 8" square pan and serve it without frosting, although you could fancy it up that way if you like.

Simmonsville Solar Banana Cake:
Mix together and set aside:
2 1/2 cups flour (we use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In mixing bowl,
cream 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Add 1-1/2 cups brown sugar (you can use 3/4 cup honey instead) and beat until light.
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time
Stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon
(Optional - add 1/4 tsp cardamom)

In a 2 cup measure mash 1 cup bananas (3 bananas is perfect)
Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in about 3 parts, alternating with the banana mixture, blending until smooth after each addition.
Stir in:
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) and/or dried cranberries, dried blueberries or whatever inspires you!
Bake in greasecd 8x8 inch or 9x13 inch pan (thinner, but just as good) in preheated solar oven until done . It will be brown on top and, when tested with a toothpick or broomstraw - should come out dry.
In conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!
P.S. I am happy to finally get to post this on a SUNNY day 9 days later...

Just say no...

I recently was at the doctor with an injured heel. During the "first-time-visit paperwork/interview" they asked what drugs I was taking.I answered "Ibuprophen, occasionally". They asked "what else?", and I said "nothing" and they were visibly surprised.

OK, I'm no spring chicken, but does that mean I'm supposed to be a walking pharmacy? I do take calcium daily and a baby aspirin. In winter I might take vitamins C & D, in summer more vitamin E. I drink echinacea tea when I think it's necessary and drink a glass of water with 1 teaspoon each raw apple cider vinegar and maple syrup twice a day (yum!), but otherwise don't take or eat anything specifically for my health. I believe if you eat good food (for definition of "Food", see anything Michael Pollan writes!) and don't eat too much of it, you will be getting the nutrients you need.

I am in fairly good health and somewhat amazed to think that, at my age (or any age), taking a lot of drugs is the norm. NORM - as in normal thing to do!

What is really different about our life here is all the stuff we don't do. I do not wear make-up. Did once, for my junior high school prom, and that was a bad experience. I reacted allergically and my eyes swelled up and that was that. In part due to my sensitivities I do not drink soda, do not dye my hair, do not eat at fast food places. We do not buy prepared foods, use air freshener or scented candles. We do not take sleeping pills, cold medicine except the rare antihistamine when too clogged to sleep.
It really is a case of "less is more". Could it be we just overload our systems and the result is they get out of balance?

If something is an imitation of something else I stay away from it, including imitation sweeteners, vegetarian phony meat, butter "flavored" anything. Give me real butter, steak, cheese and sugar (or honey). This also goes for artificially colored or scented foods, shampoos, soaps... you name it. Laundry detergent or dryer sheets that make your clothes smell "fresh" - I just dry the clothes outdoors and they DO smell fresh.

People have become crucibles for chemical mixtures that no one has tested in combination, let alone testing them within the living chemical stew that is a human being. I am happy not to be a guinea pig in the race for "new and improved" and, as far as I can tell, healthier for it.
You have probably seen the posters showing how quickly a Meth addict ages - looking ancient when only in their 30's, or how a smoker ages quickly as well - not to mention the other health issues. I'm not convinced that the many chemicals we are exposed to daily don't have a similar effect at one level or another.

This is one reason we started making soaps and body care products back in 1979 for our own personal use, so we weren't forced to use the artificially colored and scented commercial soaps that were available to us. And, since 1982, we've made them available to you, too, at Simmons Natural Bodycare.

Earth Day 40!

This April marks the 40th Earth Day. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) founded Earth Day as an environmental teach-in. First celebrated on April 22, 1970, Earth Day marked the very beginning of the modern environmental movement.

While recognizing these things are important in our life today, knowing the history is inspirational as well. It shows the power we have to make change.

In a time when pollution was so bad rivers were literally burning, lakes were dying, air in cities was becoming toxic with no regulation, and bird species were declining rapidly as a result of widespread use of DDT, this particular day was set aside to make people aware of, and appreciate, the limitations of our planetary habitat.
It brought together many groups, each fighting for a single environmental issue, to realize they were all involved in one larger, common cause.

To quote founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, 

"It was on that day that Americans made it clear that they understood and were deeply concerned over the deterioration of our environment and the mindless dissipation of our resources. That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America. It forcibly thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the Nation. That was the important objective and achievement of Earth Day. It showed the political and opinion leadership of the country that the people cared, that they were ready for political action, that the politicians had better get ready, too."

Sometimes in our individual efforts working to allay the effects of climate change, to protect and preserve the habitat which sustains us, it may seem we do not have much of a chance to accomplish what needs to be done. Yet since that first Earth Day much has changed.

In just the first 10 years the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Water Pollution and Control Act Amendments, the Resource Recovery Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were enacted. Also in 1970, the EPA was founded to protect human health and the environment on which it depends – all as a result of the concern of the American people.
Just think: We did not HAVE an Environmental Protection Agency before 1970. Not because we didn't need one, but because it hadn't occurred to us that we needed to monitor and protect what was happening to our environment in a nationally cohesive way!

Much is yet to be done and it IS in our power to do it. We must do it, for our future.

We know these concerns are global concerns and we must think of that bigger picture as we act on personal, local, national, and world levels. From governments to businesses to individuals we all have a role to play, even if it is only being conscious of the waste and ways of our daily life and modifying them to have less impact on our habitat. The power and the responsibility is in all of our hands.

During April we give extra recognition to the need for living with awareness of the effects of our actions on the environment around us. Use this time to create new habits, teach others, and remind your government representatives that we can have a sustainable, healthy environment for the future. And then continue this year-round, because in reality there is no "Earth Day", it is "Earth Everyday".

Olive Love

So what's the big deal? Why do we persist in using organic olive oil for our soap when it is the most expensive of our base ingredients and soap can be made without it? In a word - Quality.
Historically the finest soaps were olive oil, or 'castille' soaps, mild and nourishing to the skin. In our own 28 years of soapmaking experience we have made soap from a variety of recipes, and those including olive oil were consistently the best quality, more gentle and less drying.

Olives: a gift from the Gods

The ancient Greeks made a wager with their Gods, pledging to name their capital city after the deity who gave them the most valuable tribute. Poseidon, God of the Sea, caused a fountain to spring from the earth flowing water to the city. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, presented an olive tree. This tree's fruit could feed the masses, light up the night, bring good health, and anoint the heroes. The capital was declared 'Athens' (besides, a salt water spring is almost a nuisance!).
The value of the olive has not been forgotten over time. As a fruit, people usually love it or hate it, but only about 1% to 2% or the world's crop is eaten as fruit. It's the oil that is the delight of the gourmet, the choice of the health-conscious, and the anointment of the discerning.
The olive tree, an evergreen native to Asia Minor, spread to the rest of the Mediterranean Basin and has been cultivated there for over 6000 years. This ancient fruit is still one of the main oil crops in cultivation there and is now widely grown in warm climates around the world.
Olives are one of the few oil crops where the source of the oil is in the pulp, rather than the seed. In the latter case, the purpose of the oil is to provide condensed energy for the emerging seedling. In the case of the olive, any animal which eats the fruit receives the benefits.

Olive Oil for a Healthy Diet

Oils are an important dietary component. They provide essential fatty acids needed for hormone production and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, & K. They also add an appetizing flavor, aroma, and texture to food.
Fats & oils actually activate the pleasure sensors in our brain, an addicting connection that stems from the needs of early humans and can cause health problems today. However, as we now know, using unsaturated vegetable oils helps avoid these problems. Olive oil has even been shown to help reverse them.

Olive Oil for Healthy Skin

For healthy body care, olive oil is rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins. It is used as a base in high-quality soaps and cosmetics due to its excellence as a moisturizer and high availability. A natural humectant, olive oil attracts and holds moisture close to the skin and forms a breathable film that helps prevent the loss of internal moisture. Unlike many substances used for this purpose, olive oil does not block the natural functions of the skin and it absorbs readily, carrying the benefits of its nourishing components. Jojoba oil, shea butter, kukui nut oil and a few others are also good, but are far less plentiful than olive.
All in all, the olive fruit nourishes the body within and without, benefiting humankind for thousands of years - - truly a gift from the Gods.

• Simmons special Soaps •

Quality without Compromise since 1982
Get fine castille soaps made with organic olive oil from Simmons Natural Bodycare

SOURCES:
Naturally Healthy Skin, S. Tourles,1999
The Natural Soap Book, S. Miller Cavitch, 1995
Food That Harm, Foods That Heal, Reader's Digest, 1997
Economic Botany: Plants in our World. 2nd Ed. S. Weiss (Ed.)
Creating your own Cosmetics, Naturally, N.J. Smeh, M.S.,1995
Natural Body Care Products, Glossary of Terms & Ingredients 1995