How to dry laundry without a dryer... and how not to

 It's a lovely spring day here in Corvallis, and we had laundry to do!  I stopped line-drying our clothes sometime in late October, I think, and this has really been my first chance to use the line since.  I was pretty excited...

You can see our laundry happily waving in the sun and the breeze!

The clothesline is my favorite way of drying clothes.  One lesson I learned this year, though, is that you really should bring in your clothespins during the winter even if they are under cover.  Mine mildewed this past winter.  No great harm done, but it took some time to clean them with vinegar water and an old toothbrush...



Unfortunately, we have only so much room on our balcony for the clothesline, so I also use a drying rack.

Drying racks are a great idea.  I've used mine inside and out.  It is compact, and it gets the job done.  However, I bought this drying rack about four years ago, and I'm kicking myself for buying a plastic one.  Please don't make my mistake!!!  Mine actually broke the first day I used it, but it was in a way that I could keep using it.  Today one of the plastic pins snapped when I bumped it gently (after I had put all the clothes on it, of course!), and, as you can maybe see in the picture, it is now precariously leaning to one side and being propped up by a chair.  In short, it just needs to be replaced.

I looked online for drying racks, and I found a wooden one that seems to be sturdily built.  I'll try to remember to update when we've received it and used it!

I know it's Spring, but...

Look at how cute he is!!!

I saw a picture of a sock snowman on a blog I read, and my heart was immediately filled with joy!  I have a pile of Matthew's old socks that have holes in the heels, and I suddenly knew what one of them was going to be used for.   (Lest I leave you wondering, my socks get holes too, but they are better able to be used as handkerchiefs when we are moping around the house with a cold.)

I grabbed the old socks, and dug into my bag of small scraps leftover from projects.  I used a couple pieces of thread to tie his belly off, and then used a scrap of the old sheet used to make my sundress to make a scarf.  Markers were used to make the face, and voila!  Adorable little snowman!  Oh, the little gray hat is complements of the grey toe that Matthew's sock has.

I'll probably make a few more of these in my lifetime... Buttons might be used in the future.  Fabric scraps might also be used to make fun hats.

*crafting bliss*

Water!

I remember the exact moment in my life when I learned about what a problem water is.  I was a sophomore in college, and I was in a discussion about water in Oregon.  I said something to the effect of, "Water problems in Oregon?  We can't have water problems here!  At least definitely not in western Oregon!"  I happened to be talking to someone who knew what was what with water in Oregon, and she gave me a look and let me know that, in fact, even in western Oregon we are using too much water.

Just in case you haven't heard much about us in Oregon, let me tell you a few things.  Oregon is known for rain.  This is because it rains A LOT.  If you have Facebook friends in western Oregon, they probably comment on the rain.  Unfortunately, because we don't realize our blessing, you probably see people even whine about our rain.  We also have lakes, rivers, and streams in abundance.

However, even we have need to be concerned about water!  (See this site for more details if you are interested.)

I think that this issue is largely ignored because, like most other environmental issues, it is downright inconvenient!  We love our faucets, our showers, our sprinklers, and yes, our toilets!  Of course, it is not just home use that causes problems.  It is also industrial and farm use.  However, it will be easier for the companies and farmers to solve their water issues if the public is supporting them.

This is a huge topic, so I'm just going to try to pique your interest.  If you want more information, please look the topic up online.  Wikipedia has an article on the water crisis, and the World Water Council might be another good place to start.  I will go ahead and give a brief list of the problems that the world is seeing:

• Desertification (land that once was not bone dry is becoming bone dry)
• Disappearance of rivers and streams
• Loss of wildlife as rivers and streams diminish and disappear or become polluted
• Water pollution caused by ill-managed waste including human, industrial, agricultural waste
• Groundwater being overdrawn

Water is amazing stuff, and I feel completely blessed because of the beautiful, clean water that comes out of our faucet.  However, I hope that you will consider joining me in trying to have a healthy relationship with water instead of a selfish one.

Here are a few ways that you might be able to help alleviate the problem:

• Develop an attitude of appreciation for your clean water, and learn to conserve the resources around you.
• Minimize irrigation.  Allow your lawn to grow brown during the summer and/or grow primarily native plants or at least plants that will not require irrigation.  Aim to irrigate only your food garden.  When irrigating, use water-saving systems like drip irrigation.
• Spend less time in the shower.  Turn off the water while you are lathering or scrubbing.
• Eat less meat.  One source that I found estimates that 2500 gallons of water goes into making one pound of beef whereas a pound of wheat requires 25 gallons.  No matter what source, you will find that meat requires far more water because of all of the feed that it takes to produce the pound of meat. The exception might be meat grown in a natural, well-managed pasture.  However, if you are buying meat from the store, this is probably not what you are getting.
• Flush less water.  Consider not flushing every single time.  Put up to a half gallon jug filled with water into your tank to use less water each flush.  Next time you need a new toilet, consider getting a low-flush toilet.
• Turn off the faucet unless you absolutely need it.  Use the scrub brush to get the food off your plates.  Leave the water off while you are rubbing the soap on your hands.  Use the broom to clean the driveway instead of the hose.
• Fix leaky faucets... toilets... etc...
• Run only full loads in the dishwasher!
• Only wash clothes when they actually need it.
• Spread understanding and concern about future water issues.  If a big group of us get on board, we can see great change.

(For more tips, go here, or search online for ways to use less or conserve water.)

Less is More

I just read the book Less is More by Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska.  The book really is a collection of short essays and stories written by various people of all different backgrounds, and I really thought it was inspiring and worth reading.  The book was primarily written with the idea of exposing how unsatisfying our frantic, high-speed, clamoring, always-wanting-more lifestyle is, and how there is a solution to this problem: Simplicity.  There are a lot of great facts and specific examples given by the essay writers, but instead of relaying those facts, I'm going to explain general ideas that are left in my head after reading the book.

Aiming for simplicity is not aiming for a lesser life.  Rather, it is aiming for a more full and happy life.  Studies show that accumulating excessive wealth and possessions does not make us happy.  In fact, it can make us stressed as we spend more time working and consuming and less time on all of the other activities that humans are supposed to do including socializing, praying/meditating, resting, spending time in nature, spending time with family, etc.

Living simply would help solve multiple issues at once.  It would help people feel better and be healthier.  It would help lessen the gap between the rich and the poor.  It would help us to stop demanding more from the planet than it can give.

As I was reading, I was reminded of a particular middle-class couple that I know that my heart ached for because I wanted simplicity for them.  They are very nice, generous, lovely people, but for years now they have been constantly rushing around.  They have so many things that they don't know where to put all of them even though their house is large.  Yet, they are still dreaming of buying more and spending more money.  They both work full-time, so they struggle to find the time and energy to put good, healthy, wholesome food on the table each day.  They also struggle to have the time to spend with friends and family without feeling stressed.  Whenever I talk to them, I get the sense that they are not satisfied with what they have and where they are.  Although this couple was the one that came to my mind most clearly, I feel like many adults that I know could probably relate to this story.  It just is a sad way to live.

Two things stick with me that I want to practice immediately, the first is making time and space to live.  I had already started doing this some this school year, but I have realized that there is one thing that I really need to do to give myself this space:  Put the computer on hibernate more of the day.  It is too tempting to be able to just wiggle the mouse to see all my friends' status changes on Facebook, check my email, or Google anything.  Mind you, these are all great things, but I have been letting them take too much time, and they haven't been adding enough to my life.

The second thing that I am immediately putting into practice was the idea of appreciating what you have.  In the book, the example was a coffee cup.  Each time the person had coffee, she took in her coffee mug and admired its beauty and purpose.  I feel blessed because I have enough.  In fact, more than enough.  (Although I'm working on that, too!)  I want to remember my blessings daily and feel gratitude for them.  I will admire the color and pattern of a shirt.  I will admire the versatility of a glass jar.  I will admire the beauty of the fruit in the fruit bowl.

I feel like I have not fully captured the picture of beauty that I see in my head as I imagine Simplicity, but as I work it into my life, I feel the beauty.  I wish the same peace and fulfillment for each of you!

I taped this to the wall by my desk last year, and I will allow you to appreciate its message as well:

Love is Kind

Three of us are currently organizing and running children's church at our church, and recently we started a new series about love.  As we got started, we quickly realized that we wanted to focus on emphasizing love through action instead of emotion.  Using 1 Corinthians 13 as a guide, we have so far discussed how to be loving by showing patience and kindness.  Yesterday I was the leader, and as I spent time preparing for the lesson, I realized that I wanted to emphasize that we shouldn't just be kind to those that we like, but rather, we should be kind to everybody.

The parable of the good Samaritan came to mind as I made my plans, and I read over the story a few times to figure out exactly how to explain it to kids.  For those of you who don't know the story, this is my rough interpretation/understanding of why Jesus told it and how the story goes:

An expert in the Jewish law came up to Jesus to challenge him, and he did so by asking the perfectly good question, "How do I get to heaven?"  Jesus, as he often did, answered by asking a question: "What do you think?"  The expert responded well by saying, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."  Naturally, Jesus was pleased with this answer, and he said, "You nailed it.  Now do that."  However, the expert didn't want to love everybody, so he asked Jesus, "Who IS my neighbor anyway?"  Then Jesus told a story.

A Jewish man was walking along a road when a robber came along and beat him badly and took his possessions including his clothes.  As he lay in a ditch dying, a Jewish person of highest standing when it came to religion (a priest) passed by, but he did nothing to help.  Next, a Jewish person of second highest standing (a Levite) passed by, but he also did nothing to help.  Finally, a Samaritan passed by.  Samaritans and Jews pretty much were both taught to hate each other, but Jesus says that this Samaritan felt compassion on the Jewish man.  He gave him first aid, lifted him onto his own donkey, and took him to a place where he'd be cared for while paying the expenses with his own money.

Jesus then asks the expert who was a neighbor to the man who was attacked, and the expert replied that it was the man who showed mercy.  Jesus then instructed the expert to do likewise.

It really hit me that Jesus was showing us that we are always supposed to have our eyes open and hearts ready to be compassionate.  Even if we think that the person is a horrible person, we are supposed to be so full of compassion and mercy that we can't help but to show kindness.  I couldn't help but to feel like perhaps I could always stand to be more compassionate.  I am fairly good about showing outward kindness, but I don't always think kind things about everybody.  More importantly, I do not always take the time to look inside the person and see the beautiful shared humanity.  I think that if I do this, I can be more patient.  I can better understand where people are coming from.  I can feel God's love for people.

I think that if we all do this, we can prevent wars.  We can show mercy to the poor.  We can stop judging people.  We can stop spreading ignorance and hate.

Love is kind.  Allowing compassion in our hearts increases acts of kindness.

Wasting Food

According to the Discovery Channel, in 2004, "At home, the average American family throws away 14 percent of their food... In terms of money, that's almost $600 every year in meats, fruit, vegetables and grain products."  This is after we consume enough calories to have about 74% of our population overweight with over 25% obese according to Wikipedia.

My mom taught me not to waste food.  I remember how upset she was whenever something went bad in the fridge or if any bread went moldy, and now I'm the same way.  However, it doesn't happen very often, so I don't spend much time getting upset.  I'm really grateful that my mom taught me to care about things, though.

I think we all need to care about food because this amount of food waste is draining our wallets, our environment, our landfill space, and it's downright upsetting when so many people in our own country (let alone around the world) are going hungry.  It is wonderful that so many of us have plenty, but I hope that we can appreciate it and be grateful for it without feeling entitlement to do whatever is most convenient for us regarding food.

If you are on board and you want to stop throwing away so much food, here are some ideas that might help.

1)  Make up your mind to minimize food waste and know why it is important to you.  It will be easier to change if you change your mentality first.  You will start being able to use your creativity to solve problems if you are sufficiently motivated to do so.

2)  Menu plan, menu plan, menu plan!!!  Before you go grocery shopping, make a plan for what you will be eating until you go shopping next.  Plan to buy the right amount of food for you and your family.  If there is a sale, feel free to take advantage of it but only if you have a plan to use the food!  Don't just buy things (like fruits and vegetables) because you "should",  instead buy them because you are actually going to eat them.

3) Get your fridge and cabinets organized and regularly take inventory.  If needed, make notes on a white board or sheet of paper on the fridge of things that need to be eaten soon.  Learn to appreciate leftovers.  After all, they are rather convenient!

4)  If you aren't going to be able to finish something in the fridge on time, use your freezer!  It will stay good for a long time there.  Many things can be frozen.  If you aren't sure if what you have can be, look it up online.  Use your frozen food as snacks, or make plans to eat it at a later date.  Don't just let it sit there forever.

5)  Only serve yourself what you plan to eat.  Only serve your children what they can eat.   You can always get seconds!  I think that it is important to teach this to our children because it teaches them portion control  while also teaching the value of not wasting food.  It is OK to tear apart a tortilla to serve your child part of a burrito instead of giving a 4-year-old the whole thing.  If for some reason somebody can't finish what's on his or her plate, instead of throwing it away, stick it in a container for the individual to eat later.

6)  If you eat out, take home the leftovers instead of leaving them on the plate.  I worked in a restaurant as a busser one summer, and I was appalled by how much food I had to scrape into the garbage can.  If you do eat out and tend to have leftovers, I encourage you to bring your own containers to the restaurant.  I stick mine in a bag, and when we're done, I bring them out.  This way you avoid throwing away take-out containers.  It also makes the busy servers and bussers have one less thing to fetch for you.

7)  Eat well, make plans for meals, and enjoy your food.  If you find you are spending less due to wasting less, consider using the money to support local organic farmers and/or to help feed the hungry in your area.  These are wonderful things to teach kids about through example, too!

Food - It's what's for dinner

It's also what's for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  I'm kind of enthusiastic about eating well.  I like putting good stuff into our bodies, and I try to do it in a way that has the least amount of impact on the planet.  In this post, I want to describe what we eat.

In General...
We buy almost all of our food at our local co-op.  Most of it is certified organic, and we try to eat in season and as locally as possible.  We spend about $300 a month total on food and household items for both of us.  Usually we spend less.  This is about $5 a day per person.  We eat out about six times a year, so we really do not spend much more than this.  I try to buy every bulk item that I can to reduce the amount packaging used to get our food to us.  Bulk is also almost always a cheaper route monetarily, which is a nice bonus.  For example, to avoid canned food, I buy bulk dried beans and make batches of beans in my crockpot when I need them.  Extras can be frozen for later.  I also try to make my own foods (like yogurt) to avoid packaging.

Breakfast
We don't always have a lot of time in the morning, so it is generally cereal or oatmeal with milk.  We buy oats in bulk.  We always eat a banana at breakfast.  I make enough oatmeal on Saturday to reheat a few days during the week.  It is easy to make oatmeal exciting by adding one or more of these ingredients: frozen or fresh berries, bananas, peanut or other nut butter, spiced apples, applesauce, raisins, cinnamon, sliced fruit, maple syrup, nuts, etc.  The cold cereal is an off-brand cheerios that is not organic and comes in a large plastic bag.  I'm not thrilled with this.  I'm working on alternatives.  I'm thinking about breakfast bars or a quick bread, perhaps.

Lunch
Each week I bake either bagels or bread from scratch.  I bake enough for two weeks, so I freeze something each week.  From these, we generally eat peanut butter (ground in the bulk section) and jelly (homemade freezer jam) on bread or cream cheese and sprouts on a bagel.  I'm working on getting us to use yogurt cheese instead of cream cheese since it will be cheaper and will keep us from bringing plastic containers in the house since I make my own yogurt.  Sometimes we eat leftovers from dinner at lunch.  Additionally, we always have a fruit and vegetable (usually cut up carrot sticks).  The fruit depends on the season.  Finally, yogurt and granola or a bit of cottage cheese is often also on the menu.  I want to eventually make my own cottage cheese, too.

Dinner
Our plate at dinner is generally half to two-thirds covered in fruits and vegetables.  The fruit again depends on the season.  We have salad every day with mostly lettuce during the summer and mostly kale during the winter.  Brocolli is a favorite side vegetable of ours, but other veggies make appearances.  We eat only about one pound of meat each month between the two of us, so our meals are mostly vegetarian.  We menu plan each month, so here's a list of some of the things we've eaten in the last two to three months:

• Homemade pizza
• Potato cheddar soup
• Taco lasagna  (made with beans, corn tortillas, etc.)
• Quinoa with sweet potatoes and mushrooms
• Black bean and rice enchiladas
• Stir fry (with tofu)
• Tofu stroganoff
• Chicken pot pie
• Homemade macaroni and cheese (with brocolli added in)
• Fettucine alfredo (homemade sauce, with brocolli added in)
• Black bean vegetable burgers
• Spaghetti with tofu balls
• Crockpot chili
• Vegetarian lasagna

Snacks
We both munch throughout the day to keep our energy up.  I bake granola bars, crackers, and a quick bread (like banana bread) from scratch each week.  I also make granola in the crockpot, and we eat this with milk or homemade yogurt.  I like frozen berries on top.  We froze a bunch of berries last summer.  Sometimes leftover bagels or portions of dinners make it into the freezer, and these are available for snacking.  I also bake a big batch of English muffins once every few months, and we eat these occasionally as snacks.

Desserts
On baking day, I generally make a batch of cookies, so we eat a few homemade cookies just about every day.  I cut down the butter and sugar in my recipe, and I added more flour and oats.

What we aim for...
We try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  We try mostly use whole grain flour, and we eat a lot of oats.  We try not to overload with wheat but rather eat other grains and legumes.  I make recipes healthier by cutting down on excess oils and sugars.  I generally use butter in cookies, but most other recipes I substitute in  vegetable oil for butter.  If we dislike a recipe, we avoid it because there are so many that we like!  By making so much of our own food, I have a sense of appreciation for my food that I didn't have before.  I enjoy my food.  In the future, I really would like to grow a lot of my own produce.  I want to can, freeze, dry and store food to eat throughout the winter.  I'd also like to make more of my own dairy products directly from milk.  I'm excited to try some new things and see where things go!

Tortilla Recipe

It turns out that making tortillas is actually really easy.  They taste better, and they are less expensive.  Plus, it's one less plastic bag brought into the house.  I found this recipe here and only changed it a smidge.

Ingredients
4 cups flour (whole wheat and/or white)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups water

Instructions
1) Thoroughly mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.
2) With your fingers, work in the butter until there are no more lumps.  (Until it resemble cornmeal.)
3) Add enough water to make your dough come together but not become too wet and sticky.  Then pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic.
4) For medium to large sized tortillas, divide the dough into 10-12 balls.  Use your rolling pin to roll each ball into a circle as flat as you can.  If you have a pastry cloth, it would be good to use here.  I don't, so I rolled my dough on top of a cut-open ziploc bag that had developed holes and become useless for holding food.  If you do this, you don't have to struggle with peeling the dough off the counter.
5) Cook each tortilla in a skillet on medium heat.  Cook each side until it is lightly browned.  I found that I could roll a tortilla out while another tortilla cooked, so the process went pretty quickly and efficiently.

Yum!

How to eat less meat

Matthew and I started eating less meat for a few reasons.  First, the life animals live on factory farms is torturous, so we are trying to avoid supporting this practice.  (Please read books like Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or Food, Inc. edited by Karl Weber for more information about this and other food issues worth knowing about.)  Second, even animals that are raised in a more healthful, kind way are still expensive both to the consumer monetarily and to the environment.  Our response to all of these issues is to each eat less than a half of a pound of meat per month.

Whatever your reason is for wanting to cut some or all meat out of your diet, here's what has worked for us!

Attitudes
1) Know why you are doing what you are doing.  Whether it is for health, for the animals, or for the environment, know your rationale so that you can stay motivated.  Additionally, decide exactly how much and what type of meat you are willing to purchase and/or eat.
2) Learn about how you will make up for the nutrients that you once got from meat.  The American Heart Association has a nice page about nutrients that a vegetarian (or near vegetarian) should watch out for.
3) Recognize that "meat substitutes" (tofu, tempeh, etc.) will not taste or feel like meat.  Your experiences eating food will change!

Steps to Take
1) Decide what you will actually eat that will keep the right nutrients in your diet.  It is certainly possible to do, but you should be careful to make sure that you are eating foods that give you the nutrients that you need.  As mentioned above, the American Heart Association has a page about these nutrients.  After seeing the key nutrients listed, do a search for foods that contain them and make sure that you will eat some of them!
2)  Figure out a list of go-to breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas.  Many of your old meals can be made vegetarian.  For example, make tacos out of pinto beans instead of ground turkey or beef.  Make a veggie lasagna.  Make burgers out of black beans.  I think I will be posting in the near future about the food that we currently eat...
3) Make your food, and enjoy it!  It's really not so difficult, and you can still eat a lot of delicious food.

I do want to add a note about eating socially because the issue pops up with us since we eat with others regularly.  When eating with others, I avoid eating meat when there is an option.  However, I don't ever make a fuss because, in my opinion, my eating meat one day will not be as harmful as my being insensitive to the hospitality of whoever is offering me the kindness of a meal.  How you handle the situation is your decision, but I think it is worth mentioning that if you act judgmentally, you have a good chance of scaring people away from seeing your point-of-view in a positive light.

Eat well!

More finished projects...

Not the greatest picture, but here are the three potholders I made.  The one on the right is a deep red.  I posted the directions for this project here.  I had to scale things for each one though because I had three different types of yarn.

It's almost finals week here, and I don't have a lot that I need to do for it this term.  Yay!  However, those of you who know me remotely well know that I tend to do more than I need to when studying... To prevent that, I gave myself a project last night.  I had a used sheet that I bought at Goodwill, and I decided to turn part of it into a dress.  I used a pattern to give me a rough idea of how to do the top, but I'm pretty proud of myself because most of this I did by just making guesses and decisions as I went.  Matthew even helped on this project because he held the back up each time I tried things on, and he pinned things in the the back as I went.  I feel like I should be wearing this sundress in a field of flowers, but it's pretty gray and sprinkly today, so here I am in front of our door.

Imitation Yumm Sauce Recipe

I was recently introduce to Yumm sauce by some friends recently, and I thought it was an amazing creation.  For those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about, it is a sauce that Cafe Yumm uses in their Yumm bowls.  These bowls have things like rice, black beans, tomatoes, cheese, avacado, and cilantro in them, and then they are topped off with a delicious sauce.  I like making things myself if I can, so I looked for a recipe online and found one here.  It's easy, and it tastes amazing.  Enough said.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup almonds
1/6 cup nutritional yeast
1/6 cup garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tofu
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry powder

Instructions:

Blend nuts, beans and oil in food processor. Then blend in the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Blend until smooth, and you're done!

Meet Florg

I feel like March has brought sadness into my blog.  While there are issues around us that are sad, and I want to continue spending time on those issues since they are important, I never want to forget about the good in life.  So here is some good!
Why hello little basil plant!!!  I have a few of these guys coming up, and I also have a few oregano plants that have germinated.

Here's Florg.  I once met an avocado plant named Florg.  Since then, all avocado pits and plants are Florg to me.  I think it would be pretty cool if this guy decides to grow.

Oh Wisconsin, you make me angry...

After a week of not posting, I feel a little bit bad about coming back to my blog with a post about something that make me mad.  However, I want to spill my thoughts out.

One thing that makes me mad is what has been happening in Wisconsin.  If you don't know what has been happening, please look up "Wisconsin protests" in your favorite search engine, and read about what's going on.  From my understanding, this whole thing has been about dismantling Wisconsin's unions.  Governor Walker and other supporters first tried to say that the issue involved balancing the budget, but people figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't about that.  In negotiations, the unions had been willing to take cuts because they understood the budget and economy issues.  So no, this wasn't about the budget.  In fact, after the Democrats fled to prevent a vote on a measure involving money, the Republicans have shown their true motivation by proposing a bill that cuts out the money issues altogether and simply kills the bargaining rights of the people.  It wasn't about money, it was about crushing unions.

This makes me mad.  From my perspective, historically unions have helped the poor to middle class stand together and keep from being forced to work longer, harder, in more dangerous conditions, and for less pay.  I also am mad because it seems like this legislation has been bought by rich people.  We learn more about the situation from a phone call made by an online newspaper editor where the editor pretended to be the billionaire David Koch who poured money into Governor Walker's campaign.  In the recording of the call, we can hear how much Walker is invested in pleasing this corporate giant.  (Feel free to look this up as well.)

In short, I am upset that this state has taken from the middle class and the poor in order to please the wealthy campaign contributors.  Our government is supposed to be for the people.  I think this is sickening.

That's all.  Thanks for listening to what makes me angry!

Hey Everybody, we've got GUNS!

That is, the US has guns.  And arms.

 But I'm not talking about this kind of guns...

Or this kind of arms...

Rather, I'm talking about the kind that kill people.  Here's our current cycle of doom:
1) US people pay taxes.  Around $680 billion a year goes to our military expenses.  This amount is around 45% of the entire world's budget for military expenses.  (http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending)
2) The US spends some of that $680 billion on the development of new weapons so that we can keep a technological edge.  Private companies are generally the ones hired to do the research.
3) Private companies say, "TA DA!" as they present their new and improved killing machines to our government.  The government admires their newfound edge.
4) Private companies realize that selling the technology to other countries would be financially beneficial to them.  They act on this realization.
5) Militaries and militant states around the world end up with the technology designed to give the US the edge.  This technology is used to maintain corrupt governments.  It is also used by countries hostile to the US.
6) The US loses its edge and begins to get nervous.
7) Go back to step one and repeat.
(http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business#Thearmstradeiscorrupt)

I am all for paying taxes, and I love what a government can do for people, but this is absolutely ridiculous.  I'm proud of using our money to help people in our country and around the world, but we are spending a lot of money to provide people new ways to kill each other.

While I am on the topic of arms and the US shooting itself in the foot (pun intended), let's talk about our past decisions to supply arms and military aid to countries.  A clear example is our great support of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War.  We gave them weapons, military training, and other forms of support that gave Hussein the ability to become the oppressive tyrant he was after the war.  Obviously, we didn't really think through what we were doing because we clearly had no understanding of who Hussein was or the possible consequences of our actions.  I think we get it now.

Except, we obviously don't really get it.  Just today I was watching the news, and I saw that people were derogatorily calling Obama wussy and indecisive for taking time to consider how to react to the current situation in Libya.  There is a large group of people who want to give weapons to groups trying to remove Qaddafi from power, and they also want to send in military to help the people.  Have we learned nothing?  We know very little about the factions who are involved in this process, yet people are condemning those who want to take time to make good decisions and gain understanding of the situation.

This post doesn't even begin to discuss our unhealthy military relationship with the Middle East, but my brother has a pretty nice post about that here.  I hope that this gives you something to chew on.

Tutorial: How to make a simple drawstring bag

In order to reduce waste, Matthew and I have reused plastic bags for bulk and produce goods at the store.  However, plastic bags get holes, are difficult to clean, and end up in the garbage quicker than they need to.  I felt like we should just go ahead and have fabric bags.  Buying bags is an option, but it costs a fair amount of money per bag, and they are so easy to sew...

I almost had a dilemma when buying fabric.  I didn't have enough scraps to make bags, but I wanted to avoid buying new fabric.  (Organic fabric is fairly expensive, and growing non-organic cotton involves a lot of chemicals... but that's another story.)  I had a light bulb moment - Used sheets!  We didn't have time to wear out our sheets, but I found some old sheets at Goodwill.  Upcycling!

Without further ado, here is how to sew a drawstring bag for your produce and bulk needs!

Materials:
1) Enough fabric to make whatever size bag that you want.  Remember that you will lose a few inches to seams.
2) Thread that goes with your fabric.
3) Scissors or rotary cutter and board.
4) Pins
5) A safety pin
6) Enough yarn or cord to make a drawstring.
7) A sewing machine unless you prefer to hand sew!

Steps:
1) Cutting out your fabric

The main goal here is to end up with a rectangular piece of fabric that, when folded in half, is just a bit bigger than the bag you want to result.  The piece that I am cutting here was 19"x28".  If you can't cut that big of a piece, you can cut two equal sized pieces.  Just remember that if you do this, you will lose a little extra to a second side seam.






2) Sewing the bottom seam
First fold your bag in half with the printed side on the inside of the bag as seen below in the picture on the left.  Next fold up and turn in the raw edge of the bottom of the bag.  Pin it as you go.  You can see this in the picture below and to the right.

 This is what you should see when you are finished pinning.  Now you are ready to sew your first seam.

 As you can see here, I am sewing a seam very close to the tucked under edge.  When this seam is complete, you are finished with the sewing the bottom of your bag.














3) The side(s) of the bag
The pinning process will be generally the same as with the bottom of the bag.  If you need to sew both sides, first sew one side completely as you did the bottom seam.  One side seam will need to stop about 3 inches from the top of the bag as seen below.  (The top three inches are needed to create the case for the drawstring.)  Pin and sew this side making sure to leave the 3 inches on top.

 4) The drawstring casing
First make a small cut just above your side seam so that the top three inches of fabric are not being twisted by the side seam.

 Next baste the flaps onto the bag as seen below.

 Next you are ready to fold over the fabric for the drawstring casing.  Make sure that you tuck under the raw edge so that it is not left out.  First pin both of side of the casing at the side seam, then continue pinning in a circle until the entire top is pinned.  This process can be seen in these two pictures. (Sorry that the first one is a bit blurry!) After pinning, sew your seam.

5) The drawstring

Take your yarn or cord and lay it folded across your bag so that you can cut the appropriate amount.  Make sure to leave a little to make a knot.  I actually use a double strand of yarn to make it a little thicker.









Loosely tie your yarn to the safety pin and use the safety pin to help push the yarn through the casing.

 When you reach the other side of the casing, tie a knot, and you're done!

Yay for cute little drawstring bags!

God loves homosexuals

This post has been in the workings for longer than I've had my blog.  I'm nervous to write this because I don't think there is a possible way for me to write about this subject without offending somebody, and I don't generally enjoy confrontations.  Especially when it is a highly-charged subject.  However, I've recently learned that I feel like I want to stand up for people who are swept under the rug, and I have decided that a blog is a great way to do it because if you are reading this, it is your choice.  I appreciate it when people do read what I say, but please realize that I am not trying to force my ideas upon you.  I am merely sharing my thoughts and findings as I go about life.

The topic of homosexuality was a point of struggle for me for years.  My church experiences as a teen taught me that homosexuality was a sinful choice made by a person, and it was somehow considered a "more serious" sin.  The kind that can keep you from being a pastor.  The kind that cause you to be considered a "false believer" if you claim to be a Christian.  There was honestly a sense of disgust amongst the people.  I don't think most people would admit disgust, but you could feel it.  Of course, we probably all know that some people are willing to admit more than disgust.  We see the people in the news holding the signs saying, "God hates gays."

I don't hear these words enough: God loves gay people.  Immeasurably.  As much as He loves me.  He is not disgusted by these people any more than he is disgusted by me.  He loves them, and He wants what is good for them.

Unfortunately, I think that part of the reason that some parts of the church get to avoid difficult discussion is because people still hold onto the belief that homosexual individuals choose to be homosexual, and, with God, they can choose to be heterosexual.  I used to believe this, too.  It was the only way that it really felt right to condemn them so strongly.  However, I think that there is significant evidence that for many people who label themselves as homosexual, it is not a choice.  Although the causes seem to be complex, it appears that just like something in my brain makes me attracted to men, something in their brain makes them attracted to the same sex.  This has forced me to rethink and gain a better understanding of my beliefs.  It is a big deal to tell a person that if he or she ever has sex it will be a sin against God.

I know that the urge is to cling to the Bible verses that we repeat to ourselves over and over again.  The ones that "make it clear" that homosexuality is "an abomination."  However, I have pored over those verses and read different translations, and I have read about the process of translating them.  I am not ready to accept the mainstream interpretations.  There is compelling evidence that translators are not conveying the messages intended, whether intentionally or accidentally.  There is also compelling evidence that we might not understand  the intended meaning of the passage, regardless of correct translation, because we do not understand the context and the culture.  This is why some scholars decide that committed homosexual relationships are not condemned by God.  They are not trying to make things convenient for themselves.  They are trying to understand the intention of the text so that they can make decisions in their lives accordingly.

That's what I want to do as well.  I have written before about how I approach the Bible, and I know that it's not always what people want to hear from me.  I promise that I am not making my decisions lightly.  I want to believe the truth as well, and I'm working to find that.  My decision regarding homosexuality is to take a position of support for these human beings because that is what these people are first and foremost: human beings.  I don't want to make a decision for them about sexuality.  I don't want to condemn them.  I would like to share life with them just as much as with anybody else.  Regarding a homosexual Christian, I would encourage him or her in the same way that I encourage a heterosexual Christian: Love God, love people, be open to whatever path you are lead on, and seek the truth.  God loves each person, and I trust that we are all guided onto a good path if we ask to be.  Regarding a homosexual non-Christian, it is absolutely no right of mine to judge this person anyway.  All I am required to do is pour love and goodness into his or her life.

~~~~~

I want to give a website that I found really helpful to hear points-of-view that aren't given their fair share of the attention: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibl.htm
I enjoyed perusing through the links, and I think that they do a nice job of sharing all sorts of points-of-view.  One paragraph, found on this page, that really hit home was:
"At the time of Martin Luther, "arsenokoitai" was universally interpreted as masturbator. But by the 20th century, masturbation had become a more generally accepted behavior. So, new translations abandoned references to masturbators and switched the attack to homosexuals. The last religious writing in English that interpreted 1 Corinthians 6:9 as referring to masturbation is believed to be the [Roman] Catholic Encyclopedia of 1967."
To put this into context, "arsenokoitai" is the term that Paul seems to coin in 1 Corinthians.  There is no written record of the word being used prior to this book, and as such, people have struggled to translate it.  This humbles me, and it reminds me of how careful we have to be as we seek meaning through text.