Eco Experiment

Granny's Closet

2012-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a pic of Granny's closet, now in my room (ghosts/alien wizards safely covered - in fact, that is how Grandma had it covered too, I never saw the whole closet until too late!:)

I was going for 'retro chic' budoir-style bedroom (yes, I sulk in there a lot too!! :) not in the closet!!)

I've been inspired by some FABULOUS sites like My Little Budoir, Bobbins and Bombshells and some other lovely retro blogs/sites!

Modern Day Thoreau? hmm!

2011-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

Woo! I'm being researched by a PhD student from Arizona!:) The lovely Tamara Wallace Ramirez @artplaceidentity has asked me (along with some other awesome bloggers like Sooz and Jenn,Grant&Rhyannon@Clean Bin) about what it means to share personal stories with an activist dimension online.

In fact, she accused me/us of being 'modern day Thoreau'.
Err.

I never really thought of myself as 'Thoreau'! (Though I was vaguely familiar with him! And murmured a few lines from The Lake Isle of Innisfree now and then. Not that this is related.)

I used to hate gardening with a vengeance!
In fact, Mum had a very bad disciplinary practice of asking us to either garden or study/do homework when we were kids (whereupon we ended up reading Victoria Holt hidden secretly in a drawer!)

But then I saw this documentary by an award-winning French journalist:

and found out the only way to be absolutely sure what you eat is to grow it yourself, that GMO soy has even been labelled as 'eco/organic soy' in our country, that 'eco food' was EXPENSIVE *AND* wrapped in plastic/unrecyclable cellophane in stores, and much of it imported from Italy or elsewhere! (In fact, most of the supermarket food seemed to be imported from SOMEWHERE: garlic from China, beans from Argentina... YIKES!!)

So, I developed a passion for the hoe. (Okay, not exactly.) But I cursed Monsanto with every blow.
And realized it was not so much trouble, and a lovely workout! Hey, it was free!! And I got a kick out of free food too!! :)

I LOVE experimenting and may quickly get bored, so blogging was another way to keep up the MOTIVATION!

But it all started before that.

I was writing my eco SF romance when I heard some bad news on the radio! YIKES! An incinerator was to be built in Granny's town! And they called it 'eco-friendly'?? What to do? The whole point of my book was to not just 'look away', but to take action!
I researched the hell out of it and talked to some people, but it was too far along, I had too little knowledge or support to make a difference then (and some health problems), but no one could stop me to try and make ZERO WASTE personally (or come as close as I could)! Heck if I wanted my trash to become a toxic problem for the health of my friends and relatives in an already chemically polluted area!
They were like textbook examples of health problems from environmental pollution.

So I wanted to make zero waste. But had no idea how. :)

I read books on natural cosmetics, consulted my Grandma on how they did it in the 'old days', rethought the idea of 'cloth pads' (first I thought it exotic but gross & possibly terrifying lol!) and Googled like crazy.
I actually had a hunch how to stop the incinerators, didn't know what to do to reduce waste though!

I felt soo 'imperfect' with my own not-so-eco-practices and didn't know how to inspire others - until I stumbled upon the AWESOME myzerowaste.com!
They weren't perfect either, but they were having FUN exploring new things and BLOGGING about it!! :)

... And they only made one bin of trash in one year! One BAG of trash in next year!

Support from other eco bloggers - 'trashbloggers' like Mrs Green and her family, and Mrs Almost Average and Danda from Italy and Sooz and others has been great INSPIRATION! Connecting to like-minded people was a big factor, at the same time a 'by-product' was to raise awareness about it all to new people too - I actually wanted to start a 'proper' blog (with own domain name etc, haven't quite gotten round to it yet).
This blog was sort of like a 'stepping stone' in the direction to a more 'proper blog' (where I wouldn't be that personal lol).

No one around me was as obsessed about trash as I was (or knew anything about waste reduction) at the time, so I had to find info, 'allies' and support online... in books and from my Granny too, and some other older ladies... (they had great tips and info on living almost-zero-waste before this crazy era of throwaway consumption!!)

I was already committed to a certain set of environmental values - began blogging as a way to keep track of it all, research new things and have info in a handy accessible form (computers can crash too, the internet can sometimes actually be safer to keep track of things...)

I still want to make zero waste (or as close as possible), meanwhile, I've started following economy and politics even (who would have thought??!)
They are all linked with environment and decision-making...
I've found some allies in RL too, though it's all still err... experimenting :)

I was a 'non-political' person before, more into artsy/music/literature/culture stuff, didn't care about politics... (and usually switched the radio to music or TV to comedy, films or videos). I still prefer to read trashy novels to 'serious' economists or political stuff...

This blog started as a personal experiment - if political decisions (ie to build incinerators and promote them as 'eco-friendly') go against what one thinks is right, what can one person do?

Hm, the more I read about Thoreau the more I can relate to him!
He he, he refused to pay TAX too lol, who wants to pay taxes in a country that builds incinerators and such stupid things??
The economy needs to be CHANGED and TRANSFORMED - what we've been doing is not sustainable!)

So now I have another VISION: to build a country where one would WANT to pay taxes!! Wouldn't it be great?

I live 'in the middle of nowhere' so connecting with others is priceless and online world is a window into what others have been doing worldwide - and maybe some inspiration back too!! :)

Who is your audience?
I write to and with the people online, who are trying to make a difference and go more eco-friendly too... (and have been sometimes struggling with it and making silly mistakes, like I do... Or have gone through difficult times like I have...) Or some who haven't really thought about it, but they see my blog and go 'Hey, yeah, it's important to recycle/be more eco-friendly!' etc. (Cute pics help here!:) If I've inspired one person, or a few, to try something new, and see 'eco-friendly' living as an ADVENTURE and not 'something gruesome oi yuck!' I've done a lot! :)

(I only showed this blog to one cousin in RL and she wasn't too happy over what I wrote about her in a previous post lol! The idea is to have a mini-rant-space over sometimes-uncooperative family and community!:) She was happy to have her pics online though (likes to have her photos taken!)

At the moment I feel like I've built this blog like a statue to my Granny... To sort of keep memory of her and what she meant to me alive...

I'd probably stop writing the blog if there weren't any feedback :) The idea was to connect with people, learn from them, and keep on track with the zero waste thing. It's not ROCKET SCIENCE, but it's not so easy sometimes - one needs to unlearn decades of BRAINWASHING/MARKETING sometimes, re-explore basic assumptions, one can get disheartened without positive encouragement, especially if there may be many obstacles or some negative feedback/experiences in RL...

As for BLOG FORM: Hm, my posts are not so short! lol!
I know I get more comments on shorter posts with pics, and/or very enthusiastic ones... It doesn't stop me from posting at other times though...
I like it that I can include links to keep track of research or inspiration more easily...
If something makes me really angry, or happy, or sad... I'll probably blog about it (or post elsewhere, or at least write in a private journal)
It's probably a bit like THERAPY (like Kafka wrote), I'm addicted to writing lol!

What I really LOVE about blogging is connecting to some really AWESOME people out there: it makes me feel HOPEFUL that people from all over the world are being creative and inspiring and doing some pretty awesome (and cute!) things to go more eco-friendly...

What influence that you hope your blog will have on others?
I don't have dellusions that my blog would 'change the world' (by itself) but it's helping me maintain sanity, health... And have some FUN with it all!!

I like to think of myself as someone doing a 'tiny bit' - if everyone does own 'tiny bit', we can do A LOT!!

Oh, and someone from Brazil reads my blog - I don't know anyone from Brazil, lol!! But it makes me THRILLED that maybe they can get some value & INSPIRATION from what I write! :) Arizona is a pretty COOL place too, never been there! So, it's a place for INTERNATIONAL working and co-operation, working together on things that are IMPORTANT - for this planet & all of us!

Just a Brief Update - On Furniture, Lime Paint and Other Horrors

2011-09-21T11:32:00.001-07:00

I keep meaning to blog, and then other things happen and 'latest news' isn't 'latest news' anymore, lol.

Well, we survived the heatwave/s (somehow). Without AC! (I'm still proud of this!)

The walls of the room have been painted - with eco-friendly lime paint! (Even though I/we were afraid it wouldn't stick to previous paint, it did!:)

Some Granny's furniture is in my room now. :) I love the shiny wardrobe/closet, though doing this also made me realize flaws and problems of old furniture. (I am also a bit afraid of the Dumbledore/martians/extraterrestrials/wild things motif that I just discovered after firmly deciding to keep the closet, and forgot about it until we set it up lol - don't laugh, this would be excellent material for a Stephen King-like story! lol!)

Oh, and I got injured by (another) piece of furniture when Dad was too much in a hurry to GO GO GO!! :) Yikes!
When arranging to move furniture, set the HOUR not just the day straight!!
So, I'm still recuperating... (Nothing's broken though, luckily!!)

The other room has been emptied, painted, furniture moved around... and now it's full of stuff again! (No fun painting in a heatwave, I tell you though!!)

This is SUCH an exercise in anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism, lol!!

It was so much FUN to be in a zen-minimalist setting, but sis then delivered all my stuff back to me, cause she wants to finish her rooms too!

It's a bit like 'get the numbers in a row' game or rubic's cube, you have to empty a room and put all that stuff elsewhere, and then bring it back, along with other things, slowly the garage is getting emptied of Granny's stuff... Hopefully by New Years the car will fit back into the garage! lol

Okay, I know the official date is sooner, there may be floods in a few months and ideally no more precious things on the groundfloor.

I still don't know where Granny's Rumtopf (rum pot) is, I wanted to make yummy fruit-in-rum goodiness this year already, but next year apparently... (You add in fruit and sugar (and rum) as you go along, strawberries as they're ripe, cherries when they're ripe etc.) Sooz of the Last Biscuit reminded me of this, hehe. :) And now I want some! lol!
Granny used to make it... (OR, the pot would be excellent for keeping cloth pads in, still haven't decided fully, but that rum pot is just too yummy!! so I think that'll win!)

My room is almost livable now, BUT the other room: home office/kitchenette/living room - is - FULL of boxes and I don't know what to do with them! LOL!

Some inspiration at NotEasytoBeGreen: on getting rid of books. Yes, I'm a book lover, and sis is even worse!! We have tons of books in the house, and those that I don't want anymore, dad doesn't want to give away, etc! It's a vicious circle! :)
At least I'm boxing some of the uni stuff, there's not much room in the storage part of the attic though, a big cleanup action would be necessary there too!

Soo... there's still lots to do, researching what is better: acrylic or silicate paint, to finish exterior of the house (the below section)! What is more eco-friendly and health-friendly? Any ideas??

Edit: mum's just shown me where the rum pot is! :) <3 <3 <3 Bless her! There are no strawberries or cherries to put in it though!! So, until next year! :)

Granny's Treasures

2011-04-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

This blog (and myself) have been having a sort of 'identity crisis'.

I've spent the most part of the last few months worrying about Grandma's flat and her pretty awesome furniture and other lovely objects - and Dad's desire to just, uhm, throw it all away!

How do you put a 3-room city appartment (with balcony) into an already overcrowded house/attic in countryside suburbia?

No, we couldn't take the furnaces: one was built-in and one got donated!

I spent some time over at her place, going through things, putting lovelies into boxes etc. (and other random stuff - yes, my parents were sometimes shocked with terror at some of the things I wanted to KEEP! There were some scenes, yup..) It wasn't easy. Sometimes, it was downright difficult. It was also a healing experience...

Granny had a pretty, err, unique sense of style... ;)
This was sitting atop a fridge and I still have no idea what it is!! (It's pretty though, isn't it? I hope they haven't thrown it away??) Next to it are some seeds and an Uncle's custom wine ;)

None of the photos really do the AWESOME credenza filled with princessy stuff justice!!! It was one of the most AMAZING things for us kids in Granny's flat, and it's an awesome mixture of tacky and classy - though on most of the photos it just all looks, err, tacky lol! But ^^that's just the best way to describe Granny's style, I guess!!

There was decades of unwanted birthday gifts and such in there!! ;)
Some of the choices were hilarious: Coz oohed and ahhed over the violet glasses (you can't really see them here, Coz found them very arty and stylish lol), but in the end I had to tell her that Grandpa really hated them and never wanted to drink from them cause he saw them as too 'funeral-like'! lol!

One shelf missing... Yeah the dolls scare me too - Aunt and Mom had a great fondness for them though: memories!! Coz2 actually took the scary shell-chicken!! (They love chicken and hens and geese at that house!!) I was soo relieved... (Nobody wanted some of the even tackier mementoes though, no idea what to do with those?? Boxed'em up so far!)

Cousin took some of the beautiful plates and cups and glasses that were on exhibit in living room - we almost killed each other over a vase, but other than that it went pretty well - we had a 'Grandma-remembering party over a weekend and divided the credenza princess china fairly'.. Okay, except for the vase, maybe.. but I'm now stuck with some lovely tiny coffee cups I have no idea what to do with rather than play princesses lol!! (PS That's not Granny in the photo above!!)

My motto was (of course): no waste! (Or as close to it as possible!)

But where to put the couch and armchairs and other... things?

This did bring some stress at times inbetween, and some really nasty looks from the family - there was some trash (especially when I wasn't looking!!) I tried to jump around and prevent just trashing stuff wherever I could... I've learnt some lessons too, couldn't really push it as it was... we were all kinda upset and cranky most of the time anyway.. (when in the same room together lol) Sometimes I had to remind myself this was Mom's Mom, and so no wonder she was cranky and upset too.. And Dad - well, he never lived with Granny for years and it wasn't his Granny - sometimes I had to remind him of that too!

(My Dad is of the 'toss and buy new' variant! Though he prevented me to donate some things that I would've lol!)

The Albanian ex-neighbours (and their relatives/friends) took some furniture and other things (which I then fretted over, but hey! I hope the couch will be treated nicely, it was SUCH a lovely couch to sit on!) It was an adventure taking it down from the 3rd floor with VERY many stairs!! (And no elevator.)

What can I say to people asking to get stuff for free: measure your elevator first!! Aargh!! The electrical furnace was pretty heavy too..

The flat wasn't Granny's and we couldn't keep it so it all 'had to go'...
Maybe if we were more savvy we could put some stuff up for sale, but in moments like those you don't really think about such things.. It would be very difficult to make money from the sadness.. you don't think right in moments like these...

In the end, Dad only got to take a rather ancient cooker/oven in bad shape and an old washing machine (no idea whose? it was in the cellar) and an old-er radio to the landfill to be recycled. We hope they get recycled proper.

The really old radio may get to be taken by Uncle or a museum/private collector. (Not sure if Uncle can be trusted, he has had moments of 'let's take it to the landfill' too!!)

How can you not love this couch?? <3 <3 <3

The arm chairs, the lovely bed frames and the oh-so-lovely ancient couch (in rather bad shape, but with original upholstery!!) got donated to an organisation where people with cerebral palsy renovate gifted things and sell then... I didn't know they would threaten with sawing off the armchairs and dressing them in jeans then though!! (Bad modern design - the huge benefit of those arm chairs was the ease of sitting in them even for tall people!!) And they said they'd take out the upholstery from the couch and put in foam!! Grr!! It was a time when I REALLY wished I had moved away and had my own flat or house!! I hated Dad for a few days!!

They just needed some renovation 'underneath'!

I really wish we were given more options or time or knowledgeable help in doing all this.. to properly find good homes for the stuff...

I preferred not to be around for the final days, and well, my backache sorta flared up too... (I tried to lift a table that was pretending to not be heavy all by myself!!)

This photo doesn't really give the door credit, I really LOVE the ancient doors... (Okay 1960-ish..) Many other photos didn't turn out' right' either, I hated my camera for a while too, the light wasn't right, or the close-ups weren't right.. And I thought I'd photoed it all already and didn't bother to look at the photos when I still had a chance to photo... It's all gone now... Our garage is pretty full though!!

Coming back home was stressful: everything Granny's was packed and packaged with such great care - and on the front lawns of neighbours there was just soo much STUFF - to be thrown away and taken by the trash-collector next day!! (No wonder my back flared up!) I was scared for our pretty furniture for a bit, hence the lifting of the evil table and moving it closer to the house! (and bad back intermezzo, so I couldn't go and rescue some more stuff!! yikes! I think at that point the parents would have probably disowned me-??) Stress DOES cause backache though, there's a great book about it if you're interested. I also promised myself to start exercising again once it gets better!!

As for now, just RELAXING - on my new bed!! :) Which you'll see in a few days, haha!! :) Also fishing for a new and better ergonomic desk online. And ogling tiny flats at Apartment Therapy with great desire!! Some great tiny flats there!!

There is a certain liberating feeling of emptiness of a more and more empty flat...

Our house feels pretty cluttered up now though!!

And I am contemplating where to put it all!! Aargh!!

I want to live in a world...

2011-03-05T08:14:00.001-08:00

A lot has happened lately, I wanted to blog about things, just didn't know how.

Granny died, she was my eco inspiration. Eco lady, before the word was invented! (at least locally) She taught me so much (even if she was shocked about it sometimes).

The shocking thing is I tweeted about how awesome old Grannies are* (instead of visiting her), a day or so before things went bad...

It really makes me re-evaluate all I have been doing...

Community zero waste didn't go so easy, there's a reason why green movement is scattered all over the world... The good thing is, many people are becoming more and more aware of things... (The difficult thing is to get everyone 'on board' and find ways how to do things in harmony and aligned and sustainable not just scattered and 'random'.) Small efforts still matter.

So even if we're not united (yet), or if things seem horrible sometimes, there's still hope.

This is the artist behind the song: Eeyore The Troubadour you can listen to the whole song or download it!

Love & kisses, Layla (still pretty shaken, though getting better, slowly, even decluttering the attick somewhat)

*(full version of that great short film on activist grannies here I'd probably need to make a proper blog post about it but I can't just now, you should see it though! And visit your Granny before it's too late!! Get her to teach you her eco tricks - she probably knows some mean ones! Even if she may not be aware of it at all!! There is still so much I wish to have learnt from her.. about living a simple life, in simple ways.. and how to have magic green fingers.. and stuff that only grannies can tell..)

Eco Club is on its way!! :)

2010-12-17T16:34:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie note to say YAY I'm still alive & we've started the local ECO CLUB, YAY!! :)

I've got some tips from experienced non-profit people too, not too sure about things yet, we'll see how it goes!!

Yes, it was stressful and miserable at times, and we're still only at the start basically, but it's all very exciting too!!

Still need to educate many people here first, even the ones excited about the eco club... :)

We still don't have a name and officially don't exist yet :) and we have random places to meet.. It seems like a lotta work sometimes, it's very cool when you see glimpses of inspiration in what other people or non profits did though!! :)

And there's some SNOW again today too!! YAY!! :)

Soy Beans!

2010-11-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

Well, this year we experimented with some new crops (at Layla's suggestion): very exotic in Slovenia!!

Soy beans came out well!!

Source: Wikipedia
(I have my own pics too, but can't seem to find the gizmo to connect camera to the net:)
And you can see how fuzzy and funny the soy beans shells really are!!
Some people recommend rolling them into an old sheet and rolling them over with dough roller for de-shelling - we just used fingers, sis complained about it!! So next year, probably gonna go 'high-tech'.

There are some tips for growing them online, but we just did what cousin said, very simple, growing them like beans.
They are yummy too!! Just cooked, like beans!! (Another family we know recommended that recipe - never ate them like that before, lol!)

Reasons for growing soy: to avoid that iffy plastic or cellophane or plastic-lined packaging!! (And maybe even make own plastic-less tofu?? Do we dare?? Well, maybe we don't have THAT much soy?? Maybe next year..?)
And because one gets tired of beans, a bit.. And if Peak Oil or trouble with transport ever hits, wouldn't it be great to be able to grow exotic things too? ;)

Lentils and mungo beans - not so successful! (Not sure if even as much as planted came out)

Chickpeas - no luck this year!! Apparently we didn't have the best method of planting them (mom sprouted them and didn't pour water on them after planting) and what few plants came out - the deer ate that!! (Apparently they love chickpeas too? :(( grr!!)

Well, better luck next year, I hope!
Cousin has planted soy beans and chickpeas for a few years and has had great success with them both!

(He has a neighbour who burns plastics too though, but that is another story!!)

And European Waste Reduction Week is starting!! :) Are we getting excited?? :) What are you going to do this year?

TYPOS & lack of co-operation?? grr!!

2010-10-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'm very happy that this year Slovenia will participate officially in the European Waste Reduction Week!

But, and I mean but I was really furious that the invitation to that week was full of TYPOS! Grr!!
And next week was 'strike weeek' for all 'official government employees' - are the TYPOS sign of PR people's being on strike?? Yikes!

(I'd be embarassed to send such an invitation on, and in fact am.)
I'm not sure whether to call them or are they on strike??

We had some land catastrophes such as big floods, biggest in history, luckily not in our region. So I understand the Ministry for Environment was busy... However, they could have the decency and effort to read a simple short memo 2x and correct things??

That aside, I'm hoping they would still coordinate things well..

Meanwhile, I tried to get some info and 'lists' of what is really recycled from people in charge of that, and apparently that may be guarded more than the state secrets!
I was told to turn to local waste management companies (who themselves told me they don't know much, only what the others are required to take).

So at the time I'm really effing furioous!! Okay, I could probably be more diplomatic... And maybe I didn't call at the right time (the person was busy with meetings) but still.. You'd think they'd be happy if people want to help them do their jobs proper?? Grr!!

I'm not sure what to say, what to do, I guess I'll just try to get info elsewhere or just tell people to be very cautious and assume the worst and just go for as little recycling waste too.. (Maybe that's closest to the truth too??) ugh!!

Explanation for Not Posting

2010-09-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

I've read a post in a blog that says never to apologize for not posting (hm?) I still think I need to explain though.

The need to stay away.

Because I was deeply, terribly, horribly embarassed.

I only figured it out recently. I just couldn't get myself to post before.

My Dad. He was like the ultimate polluter, always coming up with schemes how to employ iffy practices at the renovation works - and I was just soo deeply embarassed.
Cause I wasn't able to convince him of more eco ways.

Or didn't know what were more eco ways. (I'm not an eco building expert or engineer, am I? Frenzied googling was sometimes just not timely enough, or I didn't get good enough answers.. I think my Dad has some ADD/ADHD, and sometimes things just needed to be done 'now'!)
As the renovated part will not be my chambers, I also didn't feel entitled to push my opinions too much..

It still made me miserable.

So now you know. The doors and windows will mostly be conventionally bought. Insulation and such probably too.. At a point, I just gave up. And let'em do what they want - cause I really didn't want to be the 'eco monster' anymore (Dad was really cross at me sometimes, for 'complicating things' sigh..)

Sometimes he did appreciate my ideas & cooperation later on though!!
(Like the secret doors on the balcony etc!:)

I wanted this blog to be cheerful and upbeat, so I just stopped posting! :)
Luckily an Eco Building Institute has been established recently in Slovenia, and hopefully they will provide useful independent info for all interested. (Otherwise, info can be obtained for $$$$ or it's very scattered or possibly biased.)

The summer charity workshops for kiddies went well and were MUCH more eco than the previous years! And I met some cool eco people... It's still too-easy to just focus on the negative, lol. Then I realized my Dad and I are two different people and I can't let myself be made miserable over who he is and what he does. He's 'old school' and builds in a way that was 'modern' 25+ years ago!

I did learn a lot about what (not) to do later on if I ever build or renovate anything again!
So overall, it was a good learning experience (although sometimes horribly stressful lol).

I am not perfect and neither is my Dad. But I still love him. (And try to take a walk when 'loud' works are scheduled!)

Bees LOVE Oregano!

2010-09-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't think it, would you?

Some other plants and herbs too. Pretty much anything with a bloom.

I haven't paid much attention to it before, but from mid-July on, the bees get pretty DESPERATE!

My sis ran in from the garden one lovely summer day, saying: 'I won't de-weed the garden right now.' - 'Why?' - 'The weeds are full of bees.'

I thought she was a sissy, but went and checked: indeed, the piece of land covered with weeds was also covered with BEES! A few bumble-bees and such too.
The bees were even on the balcony, including on the tiny-blooming flowers...

The photos are from a while back, July/August. Thought they might liven up this grey rainy day.
Next year, we'll try to plant some flowers xtra for the bees... (Or at least avoid de-weeding, he he..)

So if you are in any doubt, whether to cut off all oregano or other herbs or weeds, even if it's not really necessary - just let'em BEE!

The bees will be thankful for it!

Lead On the Roof??!

2010-07-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yuck!!

The balcony is mostly finished with only a few things to do.. I left Dad and the roof drainage master alone, thinking Oh they'll just add a bit of metal on the ends (most has been done last week) - and Whoa! Now I've got lead on the roof-??!

(Must I remind you lead is TOXIC??)
It's a neurotoxin and causes brain disorders?? And our neighbours have a kid with Asperger's already?
And the water from the roof will go down the roofpipes into barrels to water our garden and veggies??

No wonder I'm single, are all men this stupid??

'Oh it's nicely soft and malleable,' Dad said. 'Finally the neighbour remembered he can use this.' (Dad was happy with the solution!!) Apparently the metal used elsewhere was too stiff - it's mostly aluminum, which is not ideal either, but I think still less problematic then lead??)

'Don't think you don't have any on the roof,' Dad said. Apparently there's some by the roof window too?? Yuck!!

What to do??

YAY Got Stung By A Bee!!

2010-06-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today, Sis tells me, "I heard the bees are gathering over at neighbour's place, they will swarm, you might wanna go take a look." (I thought another neighbour told her that, turned out Dad did.)

And they did!

It was soo much FUN watching them (better than TV!), watching what the neighbour will do, getting bits of his wisdom and experience...
(His son and the family were just planning a barbecue, both son and grandson are allergic to bees and can't come near.. so they weren't too thrilled you can imagine.)

I just went there in short sleeves and wooden clogs lol - no headcovering or gloves - wasn't sure what was happening or if the neighbour would let me watch or help.. Mostly I kept safe distance anyway..

Neighbour let me watch and it was highly fascinating! They gathered on the vine and for a while we just watched if they would settle and where the queen bee could be. (They only settle if the queen bee is there.) He used some smoke to get them in a wooden small hive or back to their original hive and to 'calm' them, and then took the rest like a 'grape' over a plastic bucket - and that's when I got stung by a bee who probably thought she's had enough of it all! (probably didn't keep enough safety distance either!:)

I think I probably need to write it down or record it, for future references! :)
Even Dad was fascinated with it all, over lunch - it's good to have some fascinating topics to discuss at lunch lol!

I did get stung by a bee, but this is actually a GOOD thing (not for the poor bee). At least now I know I'm truly not allergic (was a bit scared after all the scary tales of people being allergic.. I only got stung 2x before, and was always more sorry for the poor bee than for myself.) Also, bee venom is supposed to be healthy, so YAY!

Neighbour suggested rubbing it with onion. He doesn't get any reaction, after so many years with the bees - they mostly don't sting him either! (His family members are not so safe though!)

It almost didn't hurt, and after Mum's instructions I put it under VERY hot water (such that you almost can't stand it and put the arm in and out from the tap intermittently - Dad did this with his finger and had no effects at all!)
My arm was a bit red, this almost went away after the wonderful walk I took!
(I hadn't been on a walk for 2+ weeks, being ill and in the house= one cranky Layla! No wonder my blog post yesterday was soo miserable! Must go for a walk EVERY day now!! Even if it rains cats or dogs or caterpillars!!)
I had much worse reactions the previous times when I didn't use hot water and only put vinegar on the stings.. I may experiment with onion next time too.. (I'd LOVE to learn beekeeping without bee stings but I'm being realistic here!)

I googled and found bee sting cures include heat (water or heat from cigarette butt) OR cold (?), OR onion, or some other vegetables - I think tomato was mentioned? (probably would need to check still..)
Grandma says their Mum just told them to put cold knife blade over it, or just dig up some cold earth, if they were outside.. I think some plant leaves were mentioned too.. Hm, this could be a whole separate blog post (or article?) lol!

Apparently, some people are still allergic, it's good to know many can minimize effects with natural means!
I only have the area slightly red - So YAY!! :)

Relaxation, Mosquito Nets and Re-evaluation of It All..

2010-06-24T11:16:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted, again. /sigh/ What can I say, it's the summer? :)
Meanwhile, Slovenia beat Algeria, almost beat the USA and well - the UK won the other day! (It was too depressing to watch the bad game so I talked to the beekeeper neighbour instead! He told me some cool things!:)
Mind you, I am NOT a football fan, but if Sis and Granny both watched-?? It was a great game, 1st half od SLO:USA game, then I just lost interest lol!
Lots of bees came to drink from a barrel at our house, it was quite interesting.. The neighbour said he thinks bees know if something is toxic and avoid it, I'm not so sure myself..?

We didn't have the eco stand then after all - the event was 'double booked', some kids that would like to partake had a concert on the same day and couldn't, some were not so very much into eco things (or would need to be inspired more!) It was the end of the year...?

Apparently the shop took off the posters we had on the 1st eco stand when cleaning and they disappeared :( we also didn't have any good promo materials anymore (hopefully we'd manage to get or make more during the autumn/winter!) - and I got ill..

No surprise, since everything was quite hectic!
The potatoes needed de-weeding, and as I'm not such a fast expert (yet?) it took a while, basically the whole week, just at the time when we could practise with the kids! - It's not easy to be a wanna-be farmer and eco activist at the same time, sometimes!! I was hugely disappointed with myself! (for not setting it all up better, or earlier on, or getting other people on board to help before!) All the teachers and kindergarten teachers I know were busy with things this time of year too!!(I had no idea I wouldn't have time either!!)

It's all volunteering and goodwill at this time, so basically, who cares?
I do not wonder anymore why the government hasn't done something like that yet - grassroots campaigns etc, raising awareness at local levels - it seems to take talking to a lot of people and well, it's much easier to just build something than do these things!

Still, partly it was a success - creating together with two not-so-eco moms opened up opportunity for discussing eco things (without preaching!) and we had fun too! (One has written an eco song, she sings beautifully! I hope I'll get her to finish it and record it!) And some kids WERE interested! (I just didn't have enough reliable ones to carry the show!) It rained on the day, anyway! (The event still went ahead, but I hear there were not many people/visitors...) So, hopefully we'll create something later on! It would be GREAT to have a team of people who could jump in instead of me if I'm too busy or ill or something...

Partly, I feel burnt out... Part of me just wanted to jump on a plane and go to a totally different part of the world, maybe that is just escapism?
It's very annoying that some people I talked to (and a book by an eco biz expert!) all said that it's better to do things for free/without outside money at first, and later on (maybe next year) apply for EU funding or such.

It's annoying to know a lot of people (and non-profits) do get huge amounts of money for way worse projects than these!! And since I was warned project theft occurs, it's difficult to know who to trust... and to what degree.. (And since we renovated, where are some e-mail addresses I apparently misplaced??)
I think I lost some of the drive and motivation, or maybe it's just the summer? I do hope to get them back!!

My family want me to start earning money with the eco things asap!! Or at least to not lose money with these things! Dad is quite against the eco projects as he sees it as 'nagging' and 'obstruction' and 'slowing things down' - probably does not fancy women butting into men's domains like building and renovation??

I see it as perfect opportunity to educate, inform and inspire suppliers, merchants and manufacturers too.. I have shocked a few sales people when I asked what the window shutters and anti-mosquito nets are made of and if they can be fully recycled lol!!

Dad and Sis just want it done 'as soon as possible'! And I admit for a week it was too hot to research and then I got ill, oh dear.. Better already, hope it all clears soon.. Was wondering whether to try to get a (home) office away from home though, to minimize distraction... I'm officially ill so this minimizes distraction, still the renovations or farm/garden work are somewhat unpredictable.. And I still hate housekeeping, both cooking and dishwashing.. I tried my best last year, but then Dad just asked 'Why are you trying to be a good housekeeper?' (when I was trying to go zero waste) and he didn't appreciate it at all!! (He wants me to get a hotshot job/career and get married and give him grandkids!)
Granny thinks Dad may have onset of Alzheimers too (?) I thought maybe ADD/ADHD.. He didn't know the other day what a gardening concept meant that he taught us!! It hasn't been easy... :( He's behaving now that I was ill but I don't want to have peace only when I'm ill-??

So, I'm still figuring out my options, and hopefully I'll hear about some short-term funding opportunities soon too?
I wrote up some good eco programs/plans, and they could probably get funding too.. And now people just want me to do it all for free? hmm?
It seems I got pulled up too much into the pro bono/volunteer stuff and forgot to work on the profit centers/moneymaking.. I understand my parents too, it seems difficult to clone myself and do two or three different things at a time..

While resting, I read some good books ordered from Bookdepository, on time management and organizing etc.. Some things were quite helpful. I may do some reviews later on.

I did take some pics of the balcony, not sure how wise it is to put it online, color is very specific and I'd prefer to stay a bit incognito? We'll see.. :) Still have 2 balcony windows to paint, it was raining meanwhile and the wood needs to be dry for painting with tung oil too..

Tung Oil, Milkpaint and Farm Work Pending

2010-06-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've neglected this blog a bit. Again, lol.

Meanwhile, I've painted the newly glazed balcony with tung oil, after previously painting it with milkpaint (that the neighbour mixed from wallpaint pigment and - you guessed it, milk!) Apparently the Chinese used tung oil to protect their boats 2000 years ago (?) so I hope it would protect the balcony well too - and that it's the 'good' kind! (slightly nutty smell... brings out the beauty of the wood indeed, ideally we'd take this into account when making the balcony, some wood does not have so much beauty, lol! It's mixed with linseed oil, so not sure how 'waterproof' it is, we'll see.. Probably more eco than some other variants though..)

I've also been on a trip with beekeepers and talked to people about starting an eco non-profit locally.. We'll see how it goes..
The balcony and the terrace now have roofs, there's still lots of stuff to do though..
Dad wanted windows and stuff ordered 'now now now' it annoyed me to no end though - when else is there a better opportunity to ask businesses how green their products are than when well, shopping??
Still to call for some window protection - PVC or aluminum? Aluminum is costlier (so Dad says noo!) I really dislike PVC though, so still to find if it's PVC or some less toxic plastics? And apparently aluminom comes with foam added inbetween?? Can this still be recycled then?
I was too cross at Dad to call the company today and find out, sigh.
Dad hates my eco projects and thinks they're a 'hassle' (slowing things down and bloody interfering, sigh). What else can you expect from someone who worked in chemical industry almost all his life??

The 2nd eco stand was planned to be in 2 weeks, we don't have local talent or content available yet, and not sure if we'll get it ready by then??
Why was it planned on the same day the kiddies have a concert already?? Bloody lack of coordination and stuff!!

I've been distracted with this balcony work and now with farm work (ugh! I wish Dad informed us sooner than the night before!) It's very difficult to plan any meetings or phone calls or anything this way!!
Off to de-weed some potatoes, sigh!!!

Of Power Tools, Balcony, Milk Paint And Amanda Quick :)

2010-05-21T14:14:00.001-07:00

Sorry for neglecting this journal for so long!

I've been ranting off-the record elsewhere, so if you absolutely must know what I rant about, drop me a line and maybe I'll send you the link (depending on whether I know you or not!:)

Mostly my days have been quite uneventful, minus the power tools and my family's lack of time management or any sort of organization. And it's not just my family, it's also the neighbours and the weather! Sooo...?
It's not easy to get organized or get things done (or make hay) if you depend on these 'outside' factors. I did read some Amanda Quick books, out of desperation. (Sis's fault for bringing them home!)

Oddly enough, they inspired me for eco things again! The heroines there are so brave and courageous and always getting into the oddest of messes, and out of them unscathed (mostly), and usually happily married!:)
They also have to deal with odd dilemmas and things like...
- who to trust? ('Those fossil diggers can be an untrustworthy lot!' lol! So it's not just the eco world that is full of iffy types and odd sorts?!:)
- how to date? (if you are really interested in other things - those heroines happily go about doing other things, until those brooding handsome-or-oddly-attractive heroes snatch them!:)
- how to be happy with own imperfections (all the heroines -and heroes - definitely have 'em, and are still happily in love anyway!!:)

So.. did I intrigue you yet? They are not for kids, so 18+ only. (My Grandma snickers over some scenes and only brushes past them.) They may return your faith in love (or life) or make you laugh, they are all invariably silly (and mostly look alike!) but that is kinda the point!:)

I did call some people inbetween re: eco things (and have some meetings next week!:), didn't manage to go to eco fair but did make some sort-of-hay (what is the non-hay for silos called?) helped create 1/2 of balcony (it'll be mostly glass and just polycarbonate roof. Plus, after my ranting about which color/polish would be less toxic - the neighbour painted the frames with - milk & wallpaint pigment-??!! ('You'll never guess, he said. We didn't. It looks pretty and yellow. Never thought I'd actually like yellow windows, and not sure if the black knobs really go with them??) He said wax paint (with turpentine - is turpentine toxic??) could be used on top of that for water-proofing/protection against water. (The milk paint is just pretty, offers no protection against water. And this is where the rain can be quite heavy.) I recently stumbled across the awesome milkpaint.com never thought you can just create your own lol!! :)
Not sure what to waterproof the windows with (can I get enough eco wax? How much would be needed? What about any oils or such?)

Some planks have been painted dark brown already, I called the company hotline and a friendly woman said the paint for wood outside contains an iffy preservative, so it's best to be not touched, and recommended painting over with a paint for indoors?
I asked Dad how much he thinks would be needed and he said, 'Oh don't bug me with that' or something like this, so Mum and I calculated a bit, still to do more Math..
Aunt A. suggested Dad's rash might be stress-related so we don't want to bug him with too much stuff anyway-??

Sorry if this is a bit scatter-brained, am awfully sleepy and going to bed at first possible opportunity! :) Been to a concert, a practical beekeeping class (unfortunately rainy so we didn't get to do a lot), to a funeral and a few other things... Wrote programs and ideas for a charity... Researched EU funding and project management... De-weeded some onions.. Got a pretty new pre-loved sweater (of cheerful colors!:) and tutored on global warming?? And what have you been doing? :)

Can Polycarbonate Be Recycled?

2010-05-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

As you may know, our house (and my ears!) have been subject to some renovation. It's not finished yet!

The balcony still needs to be 'closed up' with either glass or polycarbonate, or both.

This renovation has not been very eco, as I am NOT an expert on eco building materials (yet?) and mostly my Dad was in charge! Also, there have been some considerations: not-so-very-strong walls and balcony mean that light (not heavy) materials need to be used. So polycarbonate was recommended to us.

Can polycarbonate be recycled?

I almost fainted when I saw who produces polycarbonate! No other than the infamous Bayer! (producers of aspirins, toxic chemicals cotton is sprayed with in India, and the infamous Gaucho, alleged beekiller, that corn is treated with!)

Bayer says their polycarbonate product Makrolon can be recycled OR incinerated. Depending if there are any facilities for recycling!
(In Slovenia, I'm guessing NOT! As CDs that are also polycarbonate can't be recycled either.) Bayer actually recommend incineration. (hm!)
Apparently it's recycled within the factory, which is a good thing! I just wish something would be done with postconsumer waste too!

Is the other polycarbonate on the market Lexan really eco? (It is claimed that is, due to energy efficiency-?)

It seems lexan may not be very toxic (tests not for the faint-hearted!) though probably not completely harmless either, especially at high temperatures used for manufacturing or such. (Data from 1992, I wonder if there is any new info?)

Then again, I'm guessing straight window glass can't really be recycled here either - 'eco islands' (local recycling containers) only accept glass bottles, and rumors have it some of those may have not been recycled either, at least some years ago. And last year may have been so-so too, as the building industry was in crisis and didn't need glass wool (which is made from recycled bottles) for insulation.

So, what would be a better choice?

No idea. I told Dad to check leftover glass he has, if anything could be made from that? I was told glass would be hotter in summer (it's a South-West window, and it really gets hot here) and polycarbonate might give better insulation with less weight.
The roof would probably be polycarbonate, we are still discussing the vertical 'windows' or non-windows.

Any ideas or suggestions?
The cheaper polycarbonate is non-see-through (one might hide from neighbours more easily! Though a curtain could be used in that effect too, says Mom! And in case you need to talk to a neighbour, it's better if you can see her on the balcony). The more expensive polycarbonate looks like glass, scratches easily though. (That prompted me back to glass.)
Slightly scared the polycarbonate balcony roof would block my view of mountains! (Don't wish the balcony to start falling apart due to too much weight though either!)

Any experience with closing down of balconies?

Let's Clean Up Slovenia - Huge Success!!

2010-04-19T10:32:00.001-07:00

Biggest cleanup action worldwide so far - about 250.000 people attended Let's Clean Slovenia in One Day! (Only 2 million people in Slovenia, so this was huge!) See more on Yahoo News!

According to the Slovenian website (with Hi! from Estonian team!), the movement is becoming global fast, cleanup actions were already successful in:
• Estonia (3. 5. 2008, 50.000 participants)
• Latvia (24. 4. 2009, 60.000 participants)
• Lithuania (24. 4. 2009, 110.000 participants)
• India - Bengaluru (16. 8. 2009, 15.000 participants)
• Portugal (20. 3. 2010, 50-100.000 participants, analyses still ongoing)
Preparations currently in:
• India - New Delhi (pilot cleanup on 23. 1. and 20. 3: 1000 participants; cleanup: 26. 9. 2010 Organizers expect half a million people to take part!)
• Romania (25. 9. 2010)
• Italy (currently registering places with trash in nature)
• Latvia (also 17. 4. 2010 - about 100.000 people!)

Brief description of the project in English on Facebook.

There's also an idea for Let's Clean Europe and Let's Clean World!!

What I really like about this action is that LOTS of people who care about Nature connected, I met many cool people (I had NO idea some were eco! :)

Now let's hope the team will successfully lobby for Zero Waste Slovenia too!! :)
Discussions and ideas have started, so... wish us luck!!! :))))

Really tired and needing some rest, brimming with more ideas too, lol!
I really wanted to go to one of the FAB parties with excellent musicians (all volunteering on stage!) in three Slovenian cities - but I just fell into the bed and slept! lol!

Learn more on Let'sDoItWorld.org !

To Bee or Not to Bee?

2010-04-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Looks quite horrible, no? Keep or toss and get new hives? Still have bees at all? I love tradition and it's a loving memory of Grandpa but...? Yes, I was shocked to see them in broad daylight! - Well, the nets could be cleaned surprisingly easily! (I'm not sure whether to clean the 'invisible' propolized edges of the 'net' more too?)

I was advised to let go of these as new ones are cheap. (?)

Yes, it looks pretty scary!

The beehive could be cleaned quite okay, there are almost invisible cracks on the sides and in edges, bees put propolis there to fix this, I mostly scraped it off! (I was advised to do that, dunno? Though it seems counterproductive? New bees will have to propolize it all again?)
I was told old stuff must be scraped off and then to use fire to sterilize the wood.

This is the scariest part: the door is VERY bad! So, not sure what to do!

Will the neighbour have time to maybe make a new door or two? (Would it be better to just get new hives as some have advised? We're a bit late to ask the neighbour to make new ones, Dad said he might during the winter! I'd love to learn to make and renovate furniture and stuff myself, it'll be a long process I guess though.)

Partly, cleaning an old beehive is pleasant - the smell of propolis is soo yummy!!
Partly, I was fretting if there was anything iffy in the dirt (Grandpa's old neighbour said the bees just vanished from neglect and there weren't any diseases, so I hope all would be right with this!)

Dad said the beehives are probably as old as he is, or more! (60+ years!) He doesn't remember any new ones being made, these were quite new when he was little!

In any case, I've learnt a bit how to approach such a project, and saw it doesn't take so long to clean. You only see the real state of wood after you've cleaned it, and doors seem to be the part to watch out for!
Hopefully next year (winter?) I'll be able to clean and possibly renovate the old spindle too (I'd done it before if I knew what to use, so that it would be as eco as possible and still protect the wood?)

So, will I still have bees or will I give up on the project for the time being? (Or, until next year?) Stay tuned!
(Suggestions and ideas welcome!) What do you think?

Eco Stand - DONE!!

2010-03-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

So, not sure what to write here? The eco stand was DONE!! The 1st day we were sort of lost a bit, the 2nd day was much better!
It was 2 different locations at the same time, and a bit of rain inbetween, so the logistics of that were a bit tricky - I feel quite confident we could do it again, and might do it again in June or so, with one stand only (we've already been sort-of invited). Not sure what to offer instead of cloth bags though? (We gave away all of them!:) At least leaflets I guess...
I was frazzled for 2 weeks, yet I want to do it again LOL!!

There were things we could do better next time, and we'll have a debriefing after Easter. I've learnt A LOT from both the eco teacher and the scouts... At first I was afraid no one would want to take part, then there was suddenly too many people! lol! (And then some didn't show up, so it was just right!:)
Ideally we'd have experts to help with the expertise part of the info offered there etc.

Luckily, the renovations are mostly over! Much relief here. There's work in the garden both here and at Uncle's farm, though. And some loud neighbours (chainsaws etc). And still not sure about the bees - will I have 'em or not? (And how to have 'em in the most eco way?)

And with all I do, it seems all Dad wants is for me to do the dishes, or sweep the stairs...? (Which I don't mind doing if I'm not dead tired.. I had insomnia half of last week lol!) He just doesn't seem to understand the need for loftier purposes? Or to relax? To help inspire others to be more eco? He just seems to see the current practical things-to-do, and well, wants me to do them. (Or get married and give him grandkids! /sigh/) It seems like he's even jealous of my eco projects?? Or just guilty cause he's stuffed the bin full of something again??

Like Sooz, part of me wants to move away and have peace. Grandma's at our house again, she's had eye surgery, getting well.. Been attacked by giant spider in middle of the night so Sis and I are roommates now. Holidays are stressful at our house too.

For a few days, I was exhilerated and really happy. Now have started to worry over things again - eg how will the priest react? (Will he give us good photos for the article? He was pretending to be disinterested, and then went & took photos! hmm?) Do I ask the girl/boy-scouts for other eco projects, or are they too busy with other stuff? They said they could do something like the eco stand maybe 1x a year.
Mom said she and maybe another woman from the charity could help at the eco party, to point people to recycle right and maybe even wash/rinse the plastic plates so they can be recycled. Would compostable plates be better? (Have people to call on that one too!) How many (recycling) bins and volunteers does one need at an open-air party with 250-500 people?

So, a lot of questions...
Working on some other eco projects too.. Involving beekeepers and bees... Ideally, we'd start a successful 'Save the bees' campaign here in Slovenia too! :)

Update April 7th, 2010: The priest was real busy with Easter etc, so I and the eco teacher sent off the photos we had, we'll see what gets published! :) No idea why I was fretting so much over this, possibly cause it was pre-Easter time and I knew the priest would be busy and didn't want to bother him! :)
The eco party will be a 'mini party' and only one set of bins will be utilized, said the organizers - so it could be simple and doable!
The catering said styrofoam plates would be used - ack!! (Since there would be no tables, they said plastic plates would be too hot! Gotta check if there's a way to have any tables? Mom said there must at least be benches to sit down - still gotta check this, lol!!:)
I learnt it's useless to fret over things that one telephone call may easily clear! Lol!!

Lessons Learnt

2010-03-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today I was thinking: I must be crazy to be doing this. lol
A simple event – just telling people to stop and say hi to some eco people, to meet some new ideas and concepts, in short, to have an eco stand by our local supermarkets – has been a project of great endeavor and undertaking.

It's still not finished.
I was fretting today over some silly details.

Then, I was talking to the two other coordinators involved, and learnt some really important lessons.

A minor change of a very simple thing (that I don't basically care about - either way, I see good things!) pulls together with it a bunch of other stuff that can make other people's lives miserable!

Just like changing materials in plastic disposable cups!
Did you know that the small cups (eg used in coffee machines or for beverages at outdoor events) are almost impossible to recycle (in Slovenia) because the manufacturers change the materials according to the price. And there is no IR technology to decipher the materials with infrared technology! In whole of Slovenia! The cups look the same - but are impossible to recycle when there's a bunch of different materials that all look the same! And bear the same company name!

Beer cups are supposed to be pretty safe.

Also, there was a bottled water company abroad (France or Germany, methinks) that changed its bottle caps to aluminum. Pretty stylish and nifty and eco, eh?
Damn right. Not.
All the recyclers had machines and technology adapted to plastic bottle caps.

One tiny detail - and it can ruin the whole process for A LOT of people!!

Luckily, I'm blessed with two awesome girl scouts leaders and an awesome eco teacher that are doing this too. The eco stand in near future.
I used to fret about it (big time!) now I feel happy we started doing this.
Cause if we learn how to coordinate each other and how to express our priorities in a clear manner, establish 'most important' things and ways of communication, I have great hope that the rest of Slovenia and the rest of people everywhere can do this too.

Love,
Layla

Cocoa Day!! :)

2010-03-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Who says community organizing doesn't pay? ;)

Got 5kg of cocoa today!!!:) And 3 pretty (ex-capuccino) boxes to store it in!
All I did was ask some neighbours if they have the phone number of another neighbour (who might also make some cloth bags - keep your fingers crossed!!)

The funny thing is I was eyeing the eco cocoa in the shop today, planning to buy it, and forgot the wallet so I couldn't. LOL!

Universe works in mysterious ways!

I think one box will be gift to a friend who also likes cocoa (in her coffee, yup, people are odd!:)

This (probably) isn't eco cocoa, but who can say No to the Universe? LOL!!

Recent Local Developments

2010-03-10T15:46:00.001-08:00

Sorry for not writing more earlier.

I'm still not quite sure what to write 'in public' and what not - I've been talking to a bunch of local people recently, and some of it is probably better kept off-record.

Some people were enthusiastic about the eco ideas (including the MP's wife!:)
Some had more ideas to discuss later. (I told them to write them up!)
The priest seems sceptical of some of the ideas, and we'll see what would be doable within the church/charity, and what outside of it.
Freecycle groups generally seem to work outside of church. I may need to talk to any successful Freecycle groups or charity organisations that have 2nd hand shops, later on.

Some people within the charity and church seem 'let's go' oriented, we just need the go-ahead too! (I do understand the official need to be careful too!)
The scouts seem to do the planning for next year in July/August, so at least we'll know for next year! (I wish I was told this in advance, instead of sort-of counting on them! Individual scouts are interested and may still help, they're busy with other stuff too soo..? We'll see!) Some scouts and the priest seem a bit jaded 'We've been doing this for years' - and felt like 'the voice of the screaming man in the desert' - hmm?!
Apparently they've given away leaflets, self-made soaps and even eco bags before, so some of them are not that interested in such things...

It's true, many people here have eco bags, many still don't use them... So ideally we'd have a short quiz, info and pictures on the stall, maybe even a song or a few or a mini funny presentation/mini-play.
And repetition is 'mother of study'. Those ads on TV are repeated for a reason!!

Two teachers are interested in possibly showing Story of Stuff to kiddies in classroom, we've been semi-invited to have a stall at a future mini-festival (which may or may not take place, but it's still exciting to think about it!:) A shop has already agreed we can have a stall there.. Two lovely ladies are already sewing cloth bags...

Small steps.

Hopefully the lots of small steps will become a big step or two too. :)

A Quick Update

2010-02-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Not sure what to say. So much has happened, and yet it didn't.

I went to a beekeeping class that was quite exhaustive (especially for a complete newbie!! I felt like I was in 1st grade and was made to listen to University grade stuff!!)
At first I thought it was FUN! Some very charming beekeepers, old guys know A LOT!!
Hearing some stuff, how bees are conventionally treated, I don't wonder why bees are ill!! I didn't like some of the things there, especially instructions for best beehives to be out of styrofoam (??) and polyurethane (?!) and such - what happenes if they are burnt? (In some cases, this is the solution for stronger diseases.) Burning styrofoam >> very TOXIC!
Luckily I also met some eco beekeepers, so hopefully I'll learn more from them.
Not sure if I even want to have bees anymore?
(But Dad keeps pressing me to fix the old beehives & the old neighbour even said he won't have a successor and seemingly he'd be happy to share his wisdom or maybe even some bees with me - but they are conventionally treated, and with some bad stuff!! hmm!!) Not sure what to do?

I finally talked to some eco people locally, some were really enthusiastic about some of the ideas and projects, so we'll see how it goes from there.
They keep telling me to go to the Mayor, so far I was really shy/embarassed to do so.
Apparently we may be too late to prepare some things for Earth Day, who knew you need to start such things so far ahead in advance? (Two or four months seemed plenty of time for me, eg scouts or school are also preparing other things - so maybe we can talk about an eco fair etc. for next year.)
At least we started talking and connecting more on a local level!
So I have a bunch of people to talk to and things to do, feeling slightly overwhelmed (and caught a bad cold). Hope it'll get better soon!

I'm also not sure how to write e-mails as not to overwhelm people (or myself)? So much stuff builds up, I wish I could discuss things with you all, not sure if it's okay to just write it here. So if you want to hear from me and I know you, maybe I can write you an e-mail, tell in comments if you're interested! :)

Flax As Strong as Kevlar? Wow!

2010-02-09T12:12:00.001-08:00

American scientists found a secret recipe (or at least similar to that) of Alexander the Great and other ancient minds!

Mediterannean soldiers didn't wear metal armour - linen is half lighter and better in the heat! And works well too!! (see the Spiegel movie, it's in German but pictures say it all! And you can Google Translate the article - recipe included!:)

Fascinating!!

I am pondering what this could mean for any other uses - in technology, zero waste lifestyle, etc etc?
(Is Kevlar recyclable or compostable?)

More about this in English here, with links to videos too!

Start of a Local Freecycle?

2010-02-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Today a neighbour dropped by and said another neighbour has some tiny cabinets and such to give away (within a week) or chop up and burn!

Of course I had to check it all out first!

Pretty!! :)

Apparently he dismantled the big things like big wardrobe (the particle board panels can be re-used for other stuff) and bed (some elements got reused or taken away before, he didn't know it could be Freecycled or given away & come handy to others!)
He said he 'had no use' for the pretty bedside 3-drawer cabinets and such!

(I'm not sure if I have any use for them either, prefer shelves, but they're too pretty - and probably too toxic - to burn!)

So I may take them for now & perhaps freecycle later.
Not sure if we can use up the bed boards? (I have two beds & none of them is 'right'! :) So too bad it got dismantled!)
Might use some shelves for the ex-fridge-cabinet (that now has no shelves), and he said he might use up some himself.

Not sure what to do re: remaining bed boards, I'm sad that he would just burn them, don't really know what to use them for? Any ideas?

I took digital pictures & wrote down measures. Ideally, we'd have several volunteers that could do that and put stuff in a local database and/or on internet etc - any other ways how to establish a good local Freecycle?

The Right to Be Miserable

2010-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

So, this is supposed to be an INSPIRING blog!
Cheerful & upbeat, like myzerowaste.com or The Rubbish Diet or Jen and Grant's Clean Bin! Those were my initial inspirations!

But, why am I writing about being miserable?

Cause I was. A lot of times. And thought, 'How can other people be so cheerful and upbeat all the time?"

Christmas and New Year can be a time of trash and it broke my heart each time I passed near the full overflowing bins (so at times I didn't want to go for a walk - which really made me miserable, lol!)

Of course nutrition plays its role too! (And cookies, sigh!)

Talking to some of my heroes and reading what Barbara Sher wrote made me realize: you don't have to be happy about it, or even 'believe' you can do it, you just have to do it! lol!
And it's true, one minute you can be happy, the next miserable - for every test or exam I passed with flying colors or anything worthwhile I ever did, I was usually pretty damn miserable at first, lol!

Can you imagine, I was scared to use PayPal or shop at Amazon once? (I'm still scared of eBay, lol!)

I was miserable & terrified before actually speaking to any of the important people re:waste here RL, and I'm still miserable at the thought of other things to do - but guess what, I bet I'll feel pretty AWESOME afterwards!! :)

Sure I can get overexcited or overinspired (possibly in the middle of the night, & have trouble writing down ideas!) but when day comes and things need to be done - yikes!

I admit it, I'm shy. And don't want to 'nag' people. Or cause anyone discomfort. (Except my Sister, but that is another question.)
And perfectionism can get the better of me. Or just plain 'It's impossible' thinking!

But you know what? I bet a lot of people think this too!
(Especially about trash!:)

The awesome Mrs Green of Myzerowaste never thought they could actually make just one bin in a year, or even one bag a week?!! And look how far they've come!!

A Minister of Environment just got kicked over a trash can here in Slovenia (symbolically=he had to resign, among other things 'not sorting out recycling and waste management' was given as a reason!), so the situation seems hopeless! (Or does it?)

An MP's wife is interested in an eco fair & eco bags & such, so got invited to visit. Am totally frightened, of course!! :)
A bunch of people still need to be networked with, articles need to be written..
What if I make a bloody mess of it all?

Well, unless I actually give it all my best (or at least a fair try!) I'll never know!!
Remember, this is still an Experiment, no? Eco Experiment!

Honestly, sometimes I feel like a character in a book myself!

What about you? How have you managed to actually accomplish things? Do you always feel happy & inspired, or do you sometimes need to get extra inspiration (nagging/threats from best friend or Mum or such!) when you actually WANT to do something?!

PS Check out Karen's fabulous FREE e-course for trash reduction in 8 weeks over at The Rubbish Diet, new assignment every Monday! - Even if you're an Eco Hero and your bin is slim, you may get an extra few tips! Even if you think you can't do it! lol! :)
It actually got us talking & we're tweaking the system!

Happy Eco New Year 2010!

2010-01-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, Sooz of the awesome Last Biscuit blog (together with Danda of Dandaworld!) is directly responsible for this! And this:

Air purifier #1! And pretty purple air purifier #2 of unindentified name!

(Air in the atticks can get mighty bad! I think these two are helping! Plus they are pretty!)

The orange cupboard is a retro vintage authentic piece my Mum's had since the 70's (I think) and it makes me happy too! The small wicker basket above is a cute random tiny basket that I repurposed as GTD inbox to keep stuff organized!

I've had the blackboard for years (Dad made Sis and me each one when we were kids, later I used it for teaching kiddies, and then it lay in the atticks forgotten - until recently!) Dad's made the art painting gizmo years ago too, and then I mostly didn't use it! (air system in the atticks not enough for a studio! - I still have a board that could be used for art too, the one bought for painting was too heavy & I mostly never used it!)

I repurposed this for jotting down things to do on computer, because it is too big to ignore! (Hopefully - my new goal is to change or tweak time management systems weekly to keep up inspiration & novelty factor!)

The home office (and the rest of the atticks) is still in the process of organizing!

They are all things that make me happy, and they are making my home office more beautiful! :) So that's 5, right?

Sooz nominated me for a Happy 101 award!

The rules: List 10 things that make you happy.
Try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
For those 10 bloggers who get the award, link back to my blog..... of course if you want to!

So, what's the rest?

6) ORGANIZING - call me crazy, but I adore it! I LOVE bringing order into chaos: be it in closets, or elsewhere! :)

7) books - adore them too!!
I recently read a lot of cool books and hope to report more about them later on!
One of them is Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher - a book for scanners, people with too many interests! :) (That's me!)

8) my friends - online & offline!!*

9) #ideaparty every Thursday over at Twitter - bring a wish and an obstacle!
Barbara Sher herself and many other AWESOME peope with COOL ideas make it super exciting!!

10) Japanese Drama - laugh all you wish, it's tremendously inspiring - crazy plots, strong women & cute boys! What else do you need? :D
Plus, in Hana Yori Dango (or Boys Over Flowers, crazy Japanese word game noone fully understands!) a whole episode or more are devoted to a reusable bento box and a cloth handkerchief!! (PS Am in love with one of the co-stars there, sigh!!)

*And that includes all of you awesome bloggers out there!! :)

Actually Sooz has listed many of you already!!
Dandaworld
My Zero Waste *and* The LittleGreen Blog (Did you know The Little Green Blog was first?:)
The Rubbish Diet
Blah to Tada
Easy Eco to Go
All of you inspire me to be more eco! :)

So I'll add new awesome people - check 'em out!

Rachel at ProNagger.com - The idea of nagging people for money kinda appeals to me immensely, he he!!
Oh, and she's legally blind! She says, "first blind chic to get an MFA from UofM in "visual" arts...I have a LOT to say about creativity, it's power and pull" WOW!
Check out her blog, it's full of COOL ideas and inspiration!! She helps artists finish things etc!

ScannerTribe blog led by the awesome Skannie! If you want to know more about scanners (or suspect you are one, lots of info and links there!)

Nukapai.typepad.com - Don't you just LOVE a blog with the title Tomorrow Could Be Boring? lol! (Of course, she's a scanner too!) I bet it's not boring where she lives! Wants to learn pottery & jewelry making, & she lives next to London, WOW!!
Love some of her thoughts on time management too!

Breanne of Sententia.net: another scanner with thoughts & ideas for time management & personal productivity!

The Lonely Craftivist that became Craftivist Collective (Craft + Activism = Craftivism!:) Also check out their fabulous website & youtube account (with a video on how to make a mini protest banner!

kAy of Gurly Things who's totally gorgeous & loves to go more eco too!! (Yes, I know I'm still due to post about the orange eco things, haven't forgotten! Actually one of them is posted here already!:)

Sassy Scribbles because she has been to Japan, lives in the exotic Phillipines (where incinerators are banned!) and hangs out with politicians' wives! :) and seems like an overall inspiring person! Love her motto: "I'm in love with life... there's just so much to see, feel, listen to...with so many books waiting to be read, places to be traveled... I hardly scratched a surface!!!"
And check out these awesome cloth bags!! :)

The KissJournals a simple living blog (that needs more readers! :) and equally awesome HotBellyMama now Mimi's Mom! The blog of city slickers who moved to the country! Very inspiring!

Accidental Environmentalist 'Home of the Need-a-Bag? Project!'(They collect reusable bags and make sure they come into new loving hands!) because of her motto: "Do you ride a bicycle to work because your car's in the shop? Do you bathe only every other day because you're just too dang lazy? Welcome to Accidental Environmentalism!" LOL She makes it okay to be eco just because you're lazy, he he!! Needs & deserves more readers!! :)
(And here's to all who say living eco is 'more' difficult - duh!)
It's easy! (often easier than not being green!)

That's not 10 yet, but I'm way too sleepy! :) Oops, or is it 10 already? LOL!

And Sooz, your blog makes me happy too!! :)

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

Wishing you LOTS of beautiful and awesome eco-Christmassy spirit!! :)

These are some of the awesome cards the girl scouts had made for the charity organisation - remember, if you think 'eco', smaller is better! Hopefully they'll get some eco tips for next year and go easy on the glitter!
I loved some of the designs, including the ones with paper napkins to the cards!

The card above is what I made for a friend, very quickly! I already had the 'Christmas trees' (from years before when I was teaching kiddies) so that bit got 'recycled' - and no glue! I just cut into paper (I admit I could've done it a bit more prettyfully) and inserted the pine trees...

I usually don't make and send cards anymore, but this one is pretty recyclable!! :) So maybe next year I'll make some more recyclable ones (most sold here are pretty glossy and don't look very easily recyclable!)

YAY! The Priest Likes my Eco Ideas! :)

2009-12-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Or better said, he likes your ideas! :)

He really liked the idea of 'Eco Fair' inspired by the fabulous Danda!

I talked how scouts could maybe hand out cloth bags in front of supermarkets, and take part in other actions, together with the charity group, maybe at a '2nd hand fair'...
He wasn't so sure how people would react to 2nd hand clothing or products (this is a very small town, almost a village!) but he said, 'We could have other stalls too' and I said, 'Of course!'
He had the idea to hand out or sell discounted lightbulbs that save energy etc! So he got quite excited about the idea!

He was real busy (and I was a little late) so we only had 15 minutes or so. But he liked the ideas presented!! :)

He gave me the contact for Earth Day scouts' coordinator (a girl I know!:)
And told me how ideas are discussed monthly by the scout leaders and accepted if they are found appropriate for the kiddies. The scouts are primarily to learn about Nature and establish a deep connection with it, inspiring others is secondary!
I'm to send him other ideas typed up, links to films the scouts could perhaps watch..

If you have any other ideas or suggestions, or links for further tips or good eco films for kiddies, please tell!! :)

Also, a friend of mine who is starting a design small business asked me for 'consulting'! /faints/ And for writing a few cheerful eco articles for their website!
She and her man are awesome and very eco too and I hope I'll be able to help them some! :)

Fitness Experts Advise to Eat Snickers?? Cookie Dilemma!

2009-11-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

European Minimize Waste Week is almost over, and I've been feeling very guilty for not doing more. Well, hopefully next year. Ideally, I'd send articles or at least a press release to Slovenian media, but I just didn't know what to write. The waste issue in Slovenia just seems soo CHAOTIC!

Do I tell people the bad truth about recycling, or do I try to encourage them to recycle anyway? (It's probably better to recycle WELL - wash/clean the recyclables etc - than not at all, as DIRTY and moldy recyclables definitely don't get recycled. I do understand people who say, 'But it's not recycled then' because in some cases it really isn't - if the stuff is too dirty or they don't have a buyer. So, what to say?)
I wanted to get a 'list' of what is really recycled and what isn't, it seems not so easy to get by, and these things seem to change. As in any market it's about 'demand'. So, what to do? Any ideas?
I wanted to get together with another 'expert' on this, and it just hasn't been possible yet. Big dilemmas, yeah!

Also, my backache flared up again.
(Word of advice: if you see your backache appears after a changed monitor set-up, change it back as soon as possible and don't hope your body gets used to it!! And stay away from cookies!:)
My back got all better after 2 days away from the computer and some lovely company, and then it went worse again!

At least I'm being pretty much zero waste about the backache. I don't believe in pills or medicines (except when REALLY needed). Instead, I'm staying away from all cookies and sweets (again) and also - just in case, from gluten/flour and milk.
Also took a lovely walk today (these are imperative for my back's wellbeing too!) and it's already WAY better!

I'm afraid I haven't been able to stay away from cookies in the house, or offered at charity 'do's' - so no idea how to solve the Sis dilemma.
She started going to fitness and bought a bunch of 'trash'! (Her words!) Basically chocolate bars etc. She says the fitness instructor told her to eat them!! (Then explained he said it's better if she doesn't eat too big breakfast and eats an energy bar after fitness training, like Snickers because it has peanuts and thus more protein.)

I couldn't believe it!!

These bars don't even have a 'green dot'!! (They're 'supermarket brand' with metallicized plastic foil and would probably just go to incinerator anyway!! Even if they DID have a green dot or whatever.)

Sis said she bought them cause 'there was nothing at home' - and 'anything would be okay', muffins or cookies or whatever..

I'm afraid to bake for fear my backache would flare up again..
Do you have a secret recipe how to stay away from cookies/yummy sweets that are in the house/freezer?
Sis wants to lose weight, so the whole thing seems highly unethical - but it's better to have DIY zero waste cookies than store-bought trash?!!

Maybe just bake 1x/month and freeze? (And she takes them out as she needs them?)
She'd have cookies every week if she could, possibly every day, but I couldn't stay away from them if they'd be outside in the kitchen, and possibly my backache would flare again?

Baking just a few doesn't seem very energy-friendly, so probably best to freeze baked ones. Are they even any good, out of the freezer directly?
(I've frozen muffins before, they were inedible even before the freezing, but Dad still ate them! Sometimes my relatives amaze me!)
And yes, I can bake edible cookies, but usually there are none left to freeze! :)

European Minimize Waste Week! How to Green a Charity and a Church?

2009-11-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

It's the European MINIMIZE waste week, and since it's my not-so-eco sister's birthday this week and she said 'Noo, no zero waste week, it's my birthday!!' I decided to work on the community efforts. So far I've:

- been to a really cool charity concert and afterparty and nagged everyone about collecting plastic bottles separately afterwards, when cleaning up ('It's the European minimize waste week!' lol - people were nodding, one said her son gathered 30 kg of tins/Coca Cola cans and then got only 3 Euro for it! Which really is a crying shame! She said her husband makes them recycle, and I was very happy to hear it! Some others were not-so-green, and too much plastic and aluminum foil was used for leftover cookies and meats and such, stuff for stars and everyone to carry home etc - hope by next year we'll find better options? I mean, some boxes people brought cookies in remained empty - why not use those again?)

- got a bag and collected some plastic bottles separately (there were two big bags with mixed waste aready!) It was a 'they can't stop me' moment lol! Best way to do something like this is to just do it.
I was a bit shy at first, and shocked everything was in mixed bags, as they have 'being eco' in their 'legislation', and since there are mostly older women there, but well, the European minimize waste week gave me the extra energy needed! :)
Next year ideally I or Mum would be there before anyone started, and would put big labels on bags or boxes: PAPER, PLASTIC BOTTLES, organic stuff for compost, etc.
- fished some plastic bottles out of other bags
- saved some pretty little glass bottles of fate worse than the worst (there has been a really COOL suggestion of using them for art workshops for kiddies, to paint as vases, as they were prettily shaped; & ultimately they were taken by a lady to be filled with yummy tomato sauce!!)
- came to clean up next day and the bags were gone! (some are too hardworking! Yikes!)
- found the bags, set them aside to pick up with the car later - then they were gone again! At least our intentions were good, next year I must put them in the car before anyone can do anything evil with them!

- avoided the polka dancing
- talked to a major Slovenian pop star (YAY he's cute live!)
(didn't dare to talk about trash as there wasn't enough time, maybe next year?;)
I realized too late that the minimize trash week could be advertised on stage!

- inspected the priest's compost (apparently he has one!)
But why is trash NOT collected separately in the church coffee club, and old veggies are put in with the rest??
- talked to the priest about when to talk (next week!:)
Our priest is great and is head of the scouts who are very eco, but he likes Coca Cola and sweets like my sister!! :( So, I'm not sure how it will all go?
I hope at least the scouts would be interested in some eco actions? :)
Like giving cloth bags to people in front of supermarkets... Any good ideas for other eco actions?

- suggested cloth diapers to a local women's shelter boss lady (okay, Mum did! She brought it up herself, after I talked to her about it in the spring!)
The boss lady was somewhat shocked, and said other things were more important at the time, we're not taking it as a final no and are going to look for cloth diapers online! (Then if the moms want to buy own plastic diapers they can buy them with own money, or they can use the cloth for free? At least that was the idea.)

- networked with some really cool people (and got invited to sing at a local choir - am still contemplating it!:)
- sort of managed to change my biorhythm and get up EARLY!
Was online VERY little or not at all in the past two days, so saving electricity!:)

- checked out a local sweet shop and saw some ways they could minimize waste!
(shocked the sales assistant by not wanting ANY packaging - neither paper wrapping or paper bag - 'I'll eat it here', I said and grabbed it! Shocking, I know!;)

So, small, tiny things.. hope it'll snowball into something bigger!! :)
And I'd love to have a zero waste presentation for the charity in forseeable future! (They're keen to get supporters and want to get more young people 'in' soo...? ;)

Eco Elvis Saves World From Plastic Bags! :)

2009-11-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Found at the awesome yert blog!

Blurb from their site: CHECK IT OUT!!
"Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT.com) is a year-long eco-expedition through all 50 United States. With video camera in hand and tongue in cheek, Mark, Ben, and Julie explore the landscape of America's unique approach to environmental sustainability." LOVE 'EM!! Awesome trailer!!

And they went (almost) zero waste ON THE ROAD from one excellent & inspiring (or plain weird;) eco project to another! Making soo little trash!!

Check out old archives - WOW, this is waay better than TV!!
From museums made of trash - to interviewing Indians!! Awesome!

Can't wait to see the movie!!

They're visiting California now, so if you're from Cali, check 'em out!!

I can especially relate cause Julie gets backache from bad eco news too!! :(
Good luck Eco Elvis is here to save the day!! :)

I wonder who the baby will look like!! :)

PS Beware of elk burgers.

Falling Leaves for Yummy Compost! :)

2009-11-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry I wasn't posting last week - had a bunch of posts planned, and still need to get some pics (of 'final products' he he..) and was kinda busy... (and my SD card is full /sigh/ Not sure if it's very eco to buy a new one? Or how to store and back up pics and little films safely in a zero waste way?)

So, let's see.

On Monday Dad and I took a neighbour's leaves off her grass - we need the leaves for our compost and she's had a hand injury! (Beware chemicals-sprayed thorns in your hand!! She's had 2 operations already and it's still not good! Her neighbours sprayed a fruit tree that's close to her roses, and apparently it then all got infected badly?)
It's good to have a big mouth (sometimes) though.

On Tuesday we got more leaves, as another neighbour I spoke to while handling the leaves (she gave us an odd look!) told a guy who didn't know what to do with them that our Dad might take them. So Sis and Dad went off and got a big load from a local sometimes-marketplace.
(Dad brought the guy a beer and was happy to chat about all evils of modern world afterwards too.)

On Wednesday I finally got to bring the 'zero waste reusable plastic containers' to a lady who makes the yummiest cheese ever!! (With walnuts or dragonwort or other yummy spices!) She was in town for a mini-event: November 11th is St Martin's Day and widely celebrated in Slovenia with new wine and ducks or geese!
Mom bought some cheese in a plastic foil ('Do you have the containers with? Do you want me to unwrap the foil?' the lady asked with concern - Mum shook her head and took two and phoned me and sent me to town with containers for future exchange. That involves a castle and a friendly pub owner. We'll see how it goes! :)
/We had to first empty some old cottage cheese plastic tubs from raspberries and such. This year almost 90% of our freezer stuff was in reusable boxes!:)/

On the way home, I caught the sub-mayor's wife handling the leaves!!

You can guess what followed. :)

Next day, Dad and I took the leaves. (There weren't many but I was furious at their pretty bags full of leaves and grass and other compost stuff whole year! I think a sub-mayor oughtta be an example, no?)
She was quite happy to give 'em to us, and told me she 'didn't know what to do with them'! /sigh/
My Dad had been embarassed to ask sub-mayor, his pal, and so I was at first a bit shy about it too.. Seeing how the other neighbour gave us leaves gladly, I decided to approach Mother Sub-Mayor directly - and, yup, sometimes women can be wiser!!:)

I was also in contact with some guys from another town, reading and listening to some stuff.. (That I wish I didn't know perhaps! /sigh/)

I still feel quite guilty for not doing more, you know!

At least we saved some bags of leaves from the incinerator!!
Any organic matter or plastics is BAD in an incinerator, as toxic dioxins and other poisons may be formed! And of course, when it's all mixed together with other trash, it can't be really usable, can it?

If composted, it'll make yummy compost for our garden!

Oh, and we made some YUMMY zero-sugar pear marmalade!! (That I'm now quite addicted to! /sigh/)
Previous years, often Uncle's pears just got thrown away to the compost (at least the compost got 'em!:) this year when apples are scarce, I thought it would be wise to get all the pears we can!
And yup, Uncle deserves at least a small jar! :)

I talked trash to Mother Sub-Mayor, one of the local girl scouts (they might be interested to hand out cloth bags!! Keep your fingers crossed!) and today, surprisingly even to my not-very-eco cousin! (He had good info on what it's like in Austria!)

November is a good month to sort and start again your compost, if you don't have one already? :)

What do you do with your organic waste, is it collected separately where you live? (Here it isn't, yet. Many people have compost, but not everyone. I was happy to see at least one new BIG compost heap (made of leaves mostly) - maybe result of my talk and articles? I'd love to think so!:)

And remember, November 21st-29th is European minimizing waste week!! What will you do to celebrate it? ;)

Thanks to the lovely Danda's blog for the info - apparently in Slovenia there is no official organizer? :( They just want to build incinerators??
I did see the 2nd biggest Slovenian city put up a notice for getting funding from EU for an incinerator there? :(

So, this week was full of ups and downs, of good news and bad.. I got invited to help film a documentary, it was sort of short notice though.. Got some cool new info though..
And today I just saw a local MP and almost invited myself to a meeting...? ;)
Probably better to get my act together and know what to say though!:) Any suggestions? ;)

Changing the Antifreeze in the Solar Water Heating Panels! (On the Roof!)

2009-11-05T03:58:00.000-08:00

(Yes, I was up there! Right at the top, holding a funnel for Dad to pour the new liquid in after he poured the old one out at the low left corner of the solar panels!)

Today, Dad and I changed the antifreeze liquid in the solar water heating panels on the roof.
We've had them for almost two decades and they're fabulous! Hot water for free even in Winter! (On sunny days!)

Still, they're not completely eco friendly. That green antifreeze liquid looks suspicious! (And has to be bought and changed when necessary.)

Dad has scientific methods for when it's necessary. He pours out some existing liquid and if it freezes in the freezer - it's necessary!

I thought changing the antifreeze was a 'routine operation', and honestly, never thought much about it before this.
It was one of the things that 'Dad did'.

But this year more liquid needed changing, and Dad had some suspicious methods in mind!

So today I got woken up by an argument - Mum and Dad quarrelled if he can use the cannikins used to water the plants or not!

If Mum gets upset over Dad's iffy practices, of course there's probably a call for action!

So I nagged my way into helping him!

He was furious and didn't let me.

I'm not one for 'men's jobs or 'women's' jobs, basically, what needs to be done, needs to be done - frankly, I'm more of a tomboy and prefer doing 'Dad stuff' lol!
But it never even occurred to him to invite me with!

We both love it on the roof, the sun is wonderful and the view is fabulous!
(Dad said he was thinking about setting up a 'room'/opazovalnico there - to escape the crazy women if they get too cranky, lol!)

At first he was really furious at me for 'meddling' (I didn't let him use more than one cannikin for pouring the possibly toxic antifreeze! & he accused me of 'complicating'! We use them to water edible plants!) Well, later on it turned out his injured left hand thumb was not completely cured yet, and he was thankful for the help. Also, two people do stuff easier than one.

And two people can get much better ideas than one alone. I lamented my hands getting wet in the funnelling process (did you know antifreeze liquid can regurgitate like little babies, and spit the green nasty stuff back at ya?!) thought about using some cloth to 'mop up' - and Dad came up with the excellent idea to put some string or wool on the cannikin to prevent spillage. It worked!
(He said he observed something similar in pubs! To prevent wine from spilling from bottles! Excellent idea, it was much easier then, and my cold fingers really appreciated it!)

He was always left alone cause Mom doesn't get on the roof (later she said she used to get dizzy, I know Sis doesn't like the heights either and gets scared of them.)

I'm not so strong, but I can be very badass! (read: stubborn!)
And I love the heights, such a clear view to down below!

Some shingles needed replacing, so he replaced them. And I watched, like a good apprentice. In any case, it's good if a few people know how to do this so you don't need to hire outside help if needed.

So we fished some shingles out of the cobwebs (my left arm is stronger than I thought!), and Dad put some sillicone where there was risk of leakage (yes, it looks like a gun, lol!)

I even had the idea to put sillicone on 'future holes' (mini holes that could turn into major holes whereupon the shingle would need replacing. Not particularly eco either, but I didn't fancy the idea of water leaking over my head either.. & replacing all the shingles would surely be more costly and resource-intensive too!)
Dad liked it and so we checked the roof for possible holes together (his eyesight is not so good anymore, and he appreciated the help!)

He even bragged about me helping him to the neighbours! lol! :)

So, things to plan for next year: actually schedule this and not be surprised mid-sleep! (My Dad is an EARLY riser!)
Have things prepared ahead, including easy access to the shingles and tools needed.
Think out the cans and cannikins available and what could be used. (Previously, Dad had re-used old plastic bottles, but with more quantity this year, he was afraid he couldn't mix the old and new liquid so well in just plastic bottles.)
I still hope to refine the process somehow to make it more eco-friendly. Or get a more innocent-looking antifreeze? Does natural eco antifreeze exist?

There are systems without antifreeze. Our neighbour uses pure water (which is most eco!) and simply turns off the solar water heating in winter! (And uses more wood for heating, which is not so eco: since everybody uses wood for heating here again cause oil is costly, the air here is quite BAD, especially in the evening!)

Dad said there are systems that involve just water and work through the winter too - they involve a small electric pump (45W or so) Maybe now there are even better systems, if you're buying a new one, definitely worth checking out!
(It also depends on roof angles and panel angles etc. whether a pump is needed or not, we don't need it, but the current system relies on antifreeze for the winter.)

And yes, once we descended and I was left to mop the floow, I admit my legs were a bit wobbly, but probably due to kneeling and mopping the floor, methinks!;)
/I really hate such 'householderly' duties! Couldn't really trust him to mop up well though, either!)

Do you or your relatives/friends use a solar water heating system - and if so, what kind? (With or without antifreeze?) If not, what kind were you thinking of buying? ;)

NaNoWriMo 2009! Eco Romance in Writing!

2009-11-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

I resisted for years, but somehow this year I signed up!

Okay, we all know sitting behind a computer isn't too eco, so why choose to do something like this?

Using so much paper isn't exactly eco either, at least I managed to buy ECF paper (elemental-chlorine free) locally and saved some one-side printed paper from burning today! Let's hope we'll find even more eco paper!

Why I first got involved in this zero waste thing is through my first novel (SF romance) I started writing a couple of years ago. I couldn't just 'do nothing', my characters kicked my ass into 'doing something'!!

I've always wanted to be a writer, since I was a little girl and read Heidi and Tom Sawyer! (And Astrid Lindgren!)
I fully believe books can change people's views and lives. (And sometimes create future.)
And they are cheapest and probably most eco means of travel to far-off locations (and universes).

Do you know how they say, 'A pen is stronger than a sword'?

In Slovenia, when Slovenian people had zero political power (like in 19th century or earlier) most education and 'enlightenment' and even political 'togetherness' came through literature, the written word.

When black people in USA were slaves, they still had the blues.

And no one could take that away from them.

When direct political speech was prohibited, fairytales and folksy songs were still okay, and passed the eyes of censors.

I thought about this muchly, and wondered, what to do. Then, I thought if one simple book could inspire me so much, maybe it could inspire others too? Empower and encourage people who'd otherwise just 'walk away' or think 'nothing can be done'?
Imagine if all people worldwide could be inspired to go more eco and do their best to go zero waste.. Or even just start making even the smallest changes!

My friends got inspired to really be more eco after I read them the Eco Cabaret and asked them to star in it! :)
(It's not finished yet and they're busy with other things now, we still hope to make it happen! And I told them they must set an example for others, so they're doing some awesome eco things already described!)

If everyone does just a little, together, we can do A LOT!!

If everyone on Earth would recycle just one can more - that would be A LOT of cans!!

I've learnt so much about zero waste inbetween that I can't possibly fill it all in the 1st book, especially as it's 3/4 written already! (and happening in Outer Space!)

So a few months ago I started writing a new eco romance, and then just run out of gas mid-book. I got this fun new idea for characters and conflict a few days ago and thought, 'Why not do NaNo'?

Check out my novel synopsis and please give me ideas, cause I almost ran out of what to write already! :)

Of course it's going to be an eco romance! :)

Do tell if you've signed up too, and friend me up! (I'm EcoLayla there!)
Oh, and do post your ~~bodycount~~, oops wordcount!

Did I tell you I was slightly competitive? ;)

And YAY my first checque for the eco articles just arrived!! :)
It's not so big, but it's not so small either, so now I'm encouraged to write more articles! :)

Oh, and I had the brilliant idea to explore what it would be like to start an eco NGO or an eco biz (because a friend was telling me to do either or both!) - so what better way to do it than through a book? ;)

And there definitely aren't enough fun books with sassy sexy eco heroines!
There are films like Erin Brockovich or Princess Mononoke, but books? Do tell me if you know of any!

Do you read books? What kind of issues or questions would you like to see explored? What kind of heroines and heros would you like to see?
Any names for good guys or bad guys that you must see? ;)

Zero Waste Flower Arrangement - Tutorial! (with pics)

2009-11-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

Due to popular demand, I'm posting pics and a quick tutorial! :)

Gather moss (easily spotted on a hike through the woods!) or get it from a farmer or a friend! Farmers on farmers' markets in cities might have ideas or might sell it to you if you ask them in advance, so they can gather it and bring it to you..
Also, gather flowers and greenery from your garden.. Find adequate space for doing this (garage or such may come handy).

Put moss in a 'dish' (bigger dish for bigger flower arrangements!) This is a small one for a smaller arrangement. Add water if needed (or add water later on!). Start with the greenery: put in the highest central piece/green branch 1st!

(It doesn't matter if some of the lower leaves are not so photogenic, with more green branches added in, you won't see those anyway!)

Get the green in first!

Then, start adding the flowers! And - voila!

Totally homemade, totally DIY, totally Zero Waste!
(It can all be easily composted later on. Since most cemeteries here lack true composting facilities, it will best be collected and brought home to our compost, or into Granny's 'green bins'!)
Still need to educate our relatives to compost and not trash this one!

Mum made two of those very quickly! One bigger (1st pic above) and one smaller (other pics later on)..
No chemicals added!!

She said moss is great to 'stick stuff in', so I'm expecting we'll be using this from now on, or grow/plant our own flowers! (Which might be not-so-easy, as Mum says the chrisantemum grown in pots need special 'care', sometimes special chemicals are used, etc! If you plant the ones from pots into your garden, big ones will grow! So, how to grow not-so-big ones?)

Cousin and Aunt planted pansies on the grave they tend, and into a bowl with some greens from last year. So they may actually even be greener than us! :) /gasp/
(no pic, it was dark and my SD card was full!!:)

Pansies don't survive after flowering, so it depends on what they do with them later on too! (Hopefully they'd get composted?) And of course it also depends how they are raised and where they are bought.. Local gardeners are better than big supermarkets, it depends what chemicals might be used in getting them to grow and bloom!
We did instruct our relatives on the glass candle, so hopefully they'll reuse that one! (Another set of relatives still needs to be instructed on that too!)

Remember, my Mum made this flower arrangement, so it reflects her taste - she made quite similar ones with plastic foam before! (Actually these two look waay better!!)
You can make what *you* personally prefer, what reflects your personality and style, and of course use what grows in *YOUR* garden! (Or your friends' or relatives'! - All this greenery comes from my Uncle's garden actually!:)

Zero Waste Flower Arrangement! :)

2009-10-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

I really hate November 1st!

Not just because an INSANE amount of candles in plastic cases (sometimes - often - it's the toxic PVC plastic!) and also 'plastic' flowers or iffy flower arrangements are bought (but mostly because of that!)

We don't have Haloween as such in Slovenia (well it's been imported!;) but there is the tradition of honoring the dead by visiting graves and bringing candles and flowers, plus you get to meet some of your relatives you haven't met for a year!

My Mum is a DIY gal when it comes to flowers and flower arrangements!

We mostly had homegrown flowers - but her heart was in plastic 'foam' to stick them in! For years and years... /yuck!/
We had arguments over this previous years..

Some relatives made totally DIY arrangements, and they were kinda pretty too! (And *free*!;)

So this year I started some November 1st conversations earlier on in the week, and as a result we're splitting the 4-stop-one-day crazy schedule for easier-going 3 separate days with different cemeteries and relatives.. (We'll see how this goes, I'd prefer 2-days of frenzy only..)

I said the totally DIY arrangements were 'pretty' (and didn't dare to look at Mum's face!) and then, how we saw some awesome moss on our hike the other Sunday, and Dad volunteered info of another place where it grows and suddenly - it was doable!

I like the flowers that continue to grow too (in fact, I think they're more stylish than most flower arrangements I've seen! and more eco) but this year we haven't got any at home, we'd have to buy them (they're affordable though, 5 Euro at a supermarket! But I hate supermarkets, mostly) and well, it's always a BIG question how 'eco' the bought flowers are, what they have been sprayed with and fertilized with, etc!

So Mum and Dad went to gather moss (at first my coming along was a requirement, then they 'forgot' me?! /sigh/ That's how chaotic our family can be, lol! Well, I had other things to do anyway..)
...and Mum made the flower arrangements..

My Mum ROCKS!

And guess what? The flowers are even prettier than last year!!
Mum said it was easy to make/'stick 'em in' too!! - And it can all be totally compostable, 100%!

I hoped to make an eco zero waste candle too (with natural beeswax) - maybe next year?!

Farm Living - Not for the Faint-Hearted!

2009-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

NOT BEFORE BREAKFAST AND NOT FOR VEGANS! :(

I wanted to brag the other day how I efficiently had cows do the right thing and eat grass in peace without having to use weapons (sticks).

I stood in front of a cow when she wanted to move into forbidden areas (across the 'line') and she stared into me a bit. I talked to her calmly and told her how the grass was better in the other direction etc.
Then, I winked at her and motioned with my head 'Let's go back', and WOW! she moved away together with me.

I'm a complete NEWBIE at pasturing and having cows behave, I just remember enjoying their company as a kid on a few holidays at Grandma's!
(And I hate all forms of violence! On kids or cows or any animals..)

The good cows were quite great company.

One was quite 'wild' though, jumped across the wire (that didn't have any electricity in it) and then jumped back when I ran after her.
(And did you know cows could be LESBIAN without the 'boys' around?! And the bulls could go gay, totally! I was quite amazed at Uncle's stories!)

The cows behaved, pretty much... They were MUCH calmer than when I first ran up from the blackberry destruction!

Dad was running after them with a stick, and they were running away from him!

Dad later said he's scared of the cows a bit (?!) and wouldn't dare to step ahead of one, lol!
He used a stick and that only made them more 'crazy', so I tried to use none, and it worked, pretty much...

You know, young cows don't really know how to behave on a pasture in peace. How to walk in the grass, in steep terraine.. They get scared of airplanes or tractors or funny noises..
The trick is to talk to them calmly and stay calm..

So that's why Dad and I were helping Uncle to teach the cows how to be ladylike in a pasture. The first day was a wild success!!

The second day, anything but.

On day One, we laughed a lot!

The really funny thing was, I tried to 'feel' with a grass blade if there was any electricity in the wire yet, and I didn't feel any. I looked around, and all three cows were curiously trying to 'feel' the wire too!

And got 'hit' by electricity!

They jumped and ran away!
I think they held it against me a bit, but stayed away from the wire ever since!

The fourth young Miss only ventured outside later, and the fifth one didn't dare to go outside at all!

So next time Dad tried to 'encourage her' a bit too strongly!

Uncle said he had a cow that only went to the next cow's 'suite' the first day, to the other end of the stable the next day, and only ventured outside on day Three.
I wish we let this cow do the same.

On Day Two, we encouraged her outside, Uncle and I patted her a bit and tried to talk her into moving outside and then over an obstacle.

Dad said, 'I'll scare her' and he did.
She went out to the green, and even ate some grass.

Then she ventured too far. And the electric wire hit her.

She went into a wrong direction.

I thought to encourage her elsewhere, like the other cows, but it didn't work - it misfired. (Maybe slapping my jeans at the same time was a big mistake?!)

She went 'wild' and got scared, managed to get herself into a tiniest of openings, and ran into the woods and broke a leg.
If you know anything about big animals, this is REALLY bad news.

I swore never to try to get young cows who don't know how to graze into rain again!

It was like cowboys, like Animal Rescue - from a canyon! Like in a film, but it was for real! And raining all over. I wondered how she'd get out of that ditch alive?! But she did.

Alive wasn't enough though.

I wanted to heal her and remembered movies where a loving owner could heal the horse's leg, but I was told this only happenes very rarely.

Today we got the meat home, and luckily Uncle could find enough customers so he won't have to suffer too much of a loss - the vet and the service of slaughtering a cow (even when it's slaughtered at home!) are QUITE costly!

We didn't get everything back (like the inner parts of the cow, and the skin, etc) I wonder what is done with those? Are they just thrown away?
At least this is better than throwing the whole cow away - which is exactly what is done with somewhat ill or just older animals that wouldn't get a good enough price to even cover the costs! - I suppose they're all burnt in an incinerator, after the skin is taken away?! It's CHEAPER to burn then make tests and use the meat for food!

This cow was perfectly healthy, and the meat was of excellent quality, but Uncle would only get 10% of the cost of slaughtering officially if he sold it to the usual buyers. Luckily, the rest of the family and some neighbours and acquaintances decided to buy meat. Otherwise, he'd be forced to give the cow a 'lullaby' and have her taken away...

In an economic crisis like this, I wonder how sane it is to just throw food away?

This was a sad occasion for all.. (I couldn't sleep after it happened, neither could Dad or Uncle! We were all sad and sorry for what happened.. And feeling terribly guilty!)
At least it turned into an occasion of family support and celebration.. (Customers need to be celebrated, no? Aunt brought goodies!)
I didn't want to help out today, but someone had too.. Luckily, cousin, Dad and Mum did most of the work.. (I still can't handle meat!) This ex-vegetarian did her part though! Mostly I cooked tea and charmed customers.. ;)

All in all, a real farm girl must learn to handle all situations... /sigh/
Uncle hinted he'd like the young cows to go grazing again, but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to help out again...? (Or if it's a wise idea??)
Not sure who else would help though?

Or where a school for shepardesses is??!!

Been Busy Busy Busy :)

2009-10-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'm really sleepy, but YESTERDAY I BAKED!! OMG!! :)

Bread and bagels, for the 1st time ever!!! :)

It was FAB!! :)

/Still need to practise on the results a bit, but I think the pics are publishable!:)/

Also, Dad and I re-shoveled our awesome compost ('man's work!';) and today I used eco methods on Uncle's shrubbery (instead of him pouring toxics on it!)
I feel muscles in places I did not know existed!

Oh, and I taught cows how to eat grass. Seriously.
I have three new best friends now!

Hope you had an EXCELLENT day too!! :)

Feeling Dangerous!! :)

2009-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, today was another AWESOME day!

Problem:

Solution:

Action:

This bookish girl is feeling quite BADASS!! :)

Dad and I demolished the tomato summerhouse (wood survives winter better when under roof!) I forgot to photograph it 1st though!

We also 'unplugged' the beanpoles, and were left with the above!

We had a fab trip on Saturday (eco-coloured!), a marvelous hike yesterday, and today Dad and I took care of the garden, before the rain starts. (Mum's caught a cold, Sis was wondering if she caught one too, and Dad's hand is still injured a bit and not totally 100%, so I got to do some of the FUN stuff I've ALWAYS wanted to do!

You know, the really COOL stuff that usually Dad's done!)

So, last week I personally grated 35 kg (= about 70 pounds I think!) of fresh cabbage! :)
/Tutorial upcoming! Along with other food preservation tutorials!
I'm a bit WAAY behind with some of them, not sure whether to put them on anyway?)

It's freezing cold here, last garden work is putting away everything, feeding the compost.. (And smaller bits of bean plant are better for the compost, as they make yummy compost more quickly!)

I LOVE chopping stuff!!
(Though Dad kept yelling: 'Away from your fingers!')

You know, it's all pretty ZEN! (I never thought I'd say something like this about gardening or any of the 'home chores'!)
I felt like a kungfu master and if you got it just right: it was EFFORTLESS! :)
And very efficient.

PS All that said, I didn't get it right 3/4 of the time and am still pretty sore, lol!!
Told Dad he must make me practice for strength all winter and all year so I'll be able to chop beanpole vine better next year!!

Superior Scribbler Award!! :)

2009-10-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

YAY! Mrs Green of the awesome MyZerowaste.com and also awesome Little Green Blog has honoured me with a Superior Scribbler Award! (Check out some of the other winners, they are pretty fab too!)

I totally ADORE MyZerowaste blog's quirky and fun adventures of one family's road to zero waste and The Little Green Blog is full of wonderful surprises too! Check out Change the World Wednesday!
There’s tips on how to go healthier and more eco, and lovely tidbits from daily life!

Superior Scribbler Award Guidelines

1. Each Superior Scribbler, must in turn, pass the Award on to 5 most-deserving bloggy friends.
2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and name of the blog from whom he/she has received the Award.
3. Each Superior Scribbler must display the Award on his/her blog and link to this post which explains the Award.
4. Each blogger who wins the Award must visit this post and add his or her name to the Mr. Linky List at the Scholastic-Scribe’s blog. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who wins this prestigious Award!
5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

And who gets the award? Honestly, I had sleepless nights over this!
So many awesome blogs out there!
Well, this time... drumroll... the awards go to:

Blah to TaDa! – Seriously awesome ideas for making boring everyday objects fab! (I find myself wondering, “Now how can I make this Blah to TaDa?”) Creative recycling at its best! - I adore Claire's ice-cream ideas! And the honey bears!

Work With What You've Got - Honestly, this blog keeps inspiring me!* Erin teaches us how to look fabulous on a budget and liberate your Inner Diva with - well, what you got! She also makes awesome jewelry, often with re-used materials!
*And it's not just in regard to clothes! I found myself re-filing all my files according to GTD method, telling myself to, well, 'Work with what you've got!'

Jen@Clean Bin – she and her man Grant and their roommate Rhiannon managed to do no shopping for a year (can you imagine?) except for food and such (and occasional white retro 2nd hand rockstar wedding suit – don’t ask!) and they made sooo little waste - can't wait to see the movie they're making about it! Awesome trailer!
The films and photos on their website made me and Mum realize how this eco thing/zero waste week could be possible!

Danda@Dandaworld blog, Italy – she’s started eco blogging about the time I have, and still has a better recycling station than I do – and a bilingual blog! Full of wonderful surprises – eco and otherwise! (And you can learn Italian at the same time!)

Mrs Almost Average@The Rubbish Diet - I was greatly inspired by both her and Mrs Green of MyZerowaste to start this trash-reduction in the family kitchen too and try to make my family green-er! (and go public with it!;) If you want tips on how to make less waste, and a healthy dose of chuckle, check out her blog and her Archives!

Sooz @The Last Biscuit Fairy-Pirate-Hippy-Dreamer-Eco-Girl... – how can you not LOVE that name? And because she’s planted garlic in a pot! (I wonder what will happen?) Honestly, how can you not love the name of her blog? :)
She's also implementing some awesome eco lifestyle changes - and staying stylish with it! Will probably also win the Most Promising Trash Reductionista award!! :) Watch out ladies!

Oops, that's six! (I hope the award police won't catch me! Couldn't decide!!)

There are so many other awesome blogs out there, so it’s really difficult to name just a few – there will be other awards for you guyz!! :)

Agatha Christie Would Cry! :)

2009-10-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Would you throw this beauty away?

Well, some people wanted to! Luckily, my relatives came to rescue!

It is now one of the awesome decorations of their attick, together with a set of beautful tiny glasses in style of Russian tzars!

Yummy Herbs: A Bath Sachet!

2009-10-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

I just got sent this 'herb crafts tip' in e-mail by Herbanite Bob, from the book "The Pleasure of Herbs" by Phyllis Shaudys directly: A Bath Sachet

1 oz. Lavender or Rosebuds & Petals (or both)
1 oz. Peppermint or Rosemary leaves
2 cups Grated Castile Soap

Combine and use 2T (tablespoon)per bath. Fill muslin drawstring
bag or cheesecloth, tie and float in water as tub fills.

Hint 1: Add 2 T oatmeal or cornmeal per bag if you have oily skin.

Hint 2: You can also buy the disposable tea bags and put mixture
in teabag, heat seal and float in tub."

Sounds interesting! :) Of course no disposable tea bags in this household!

Mint Tea Anyone? ;)

2009-10-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have herbs in the garden, but there was very little mint this year, plenty of melissa though.
So I was very happy, when my friend Z. (the one with the gorgeous DIY BF!) offered me her mint. 'Oh, take as much as you need!' she said.

I asked her to show it to me, as I'm rather a newbie to herbs too!
Then I picked a bunch. It looked a little 'suspicious', but I thought, 'Well, there are many sub-sorts!'
Then her brother and her Mum both asked me what I was doing there, and her Mum said, 'But she doesn't have mint in her garden! She has melissa!'
'Well, she said it's mint!'
Her Mum came up to check: 'What have the two of you picked?'
'It's melissa,' she said (and my heart fell. We had lots of melissa in the garden ourselves!)
'But here, have some mint.' (lol, I could kiss her!:)
I love mint tea, and this year we only have a tiny bit - there's some stuff from years before, but it's not so strong or healthy!

mint! Source: the lovely Wikipedia!

melissa! source: Wikipedia

They are both healthy and calming and lovely - in moderation, of course!
A small bag with dry melissa leaves on your pillow is said to make you happy, so I picked some more in our garden today, for those long grey winter days! :)

Been busy re-filing my files (according to the GTD method!), among other things - our house also looks like a walnut production plant! - and found my herb files have been scattered in three places! (So hopefully next year I'll do better!)
We do have books, but I didn't bother to check!

Moral of the story: ALWAYS check the herb pics before picking them - even if you think your good friend is an EXPERT and her mom goes to Herb Club! (I wish the Herb Club weren't for older people who are already retired only!!)

The funny thing is my Mum used to think mint was melissa too, so quite possibly she had taught me wrong when I was a kiddie, so no wonder I was all mixed up, lol!

Oh, and I recycled an Amazon box-y thing into melissa dryer! He he... Our drafty attick seems an appropriate place to dry herbs, so I nickname myself Queen of Herbs even if I don't have much clue about them (yet!)

Do you pick or grow herbs? Which ones? Do you like herbal tea?
(I adore it!)

Yummy Zero Waste Food!! :)

2009-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Slightly exhausted, in the past few days I've had a crash course in:

- pumpkinseed preservation (yummy!)
- mushroom preservation (drying, freezing, in vinegar)
- peach juice production :)

Of course I'm a total newbie in all of the above. lol!

feeling: very accomplished, he he! :)

Eco Refill-able Printer Cartridges?

2009-09-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

After an excellent post on Myzerowaste on how to extend the life of printer cartridges, I went to investigate the options for our trusty old inkjet printer!

The original cartridges Mum has been buying are quite costly, and a neighbour has suggested refills!
We were of course very sceptical at first, but he told us of a trusted website he uses to get the refill kits from (inks+syringe+gloves), and how the quality is just as good and there were no problems with his printer! (We were scared any refills would damage our printer or produce lower quality, as the manufacturers or shops like to scare us with!) - Surely they can't be 'eco' if they can kill your printer? But do they?

Unfortunatelly the Slovenian site only offered new cartridges for our HP Deskjet, so I googled 'the type of the printer + refill' and voila! Apparently refill kits are available from international websites!

Source: inkjetcartridges.com (Yes, that does look a bit strange? I wonder what you get exactly!:)
The idea is exciting and I'd love to order! Or possibly find a more local source?

But are those websites (and inks) reliable?

TrustedReviews.com has a good review on inkjet refilled cartridges with great pointers and ideas to contemplate.

Manufactured/refilled cartridges can be either good or possibly too worn out from being refilled too many times, which can cause different problems according to type of printer and the heads used on the cartridge(?)
So a decision whether to use or not use manufactured non-originals might have to do with the type of printer too!

There were some small problems with some cartridges (one produced high quality prints afterwards though!) Then they had them evaluated by people who didn't know what was printed with which.

Now get this: "There are several conclusions that can be drawn from these figures, but the key one is: Our panel preferred prints produced with ink from a third-party provider over those produced with manufacturer’s own products." LOL!!

Some useful comments too: Why aren't cartridges more standard? Why isn't there a law to make them more standard?
The question for the average consumer is also how long the refilled cartridges last, to pinpoint the price.
Also, apparently damages are possible and depend on quality of products (meaning depends on manufacturer and their internal conrols!) - "the "cleanliness" of the ink, the filtration, and dye or pigment consistency and ink purity are all imperative, as well as other cartridge related factors, a longevity test showing the overall costs would" be important and helpful to decide.

So it seems like a complex issue, and most definitely a project!
It's not 'either' 'or', one needs to take into account own printer and suppliers..

And we're not even near the question of why our parrot coughed whenever there was printing being done? (Even with the original cartridges!)
Honestly, I smell it too, and might have gotten a sort of 'allergy' to ink from printers when working in an office with a laser printer, of all things! (Or maybe I was just allergic to the job?;)

What do you use? Original or refilled cartridges, or do you do your own refills? (I'm leaning toward the last option!)

Also, how do you dispose of the used cartridges? Do you give them back to the store/recycling programme immediately once they are used up, or do they gather dust in the drawer? (I know, I know.. guilty!! As we often didn't quite know what to do with them!)
Would it be best to give/send them back as soon as possible, so the ink is not too dried, and so they can be cleaned and refilled more easily? It would be good to know!

So, stay tuned! There will be more research into inks and refill kits and such! :)

Green Templates for Eco Time Management?! :)

2009-09-19T04:18:00.001-07:00

In my previous post, I didn't mention David Seah - mostly, cause he deserves a post on his own! He makes fabulous forms that help you keep track of time, or start projects! (And keep track of them!)

And what's more, he loves the idea of going green in his next print runs! :)

I REALLY love his forms and design ideas.

I didn't want to start a project the other day, and just the thought of being able to tick a box on one of his forms sent me running to start it – and then it was pure flow for the rest of the evening!

I was really inspired by his weekly template too, so I made this form:
(I hope it's okay to post) It’s very makeshift and scanned badly, but it sort of works, lol!

I don’t have the tools to design well, so I just used scissors (and bits of David’s form – though his stuff is muuch more beautiful!) - and Microsoft Word!
(Hope he forgives me!:)

Ideally, it would be printed on chlorine-free or fully recycled paper, still haven't managed to source TOTALLY chlorine-free paper locally yet, though. I've got recycled paper but it smells funny and am not sure how exactly it was made either (no info on the pack). I suppose I'll have to ring them up.
There's non-eco paper in the house so I suppose the eco thing is to use it up, and then buy more eco options? (Ideally before we run out!)

I put ‘necessary’ stuff assigned to dates or hours into the first row of boxes, weekly stuff not assigned to dates on the far right or so, tick daily walks or such in the second row, and keep track of details/hours spent on a project below. (It could get a bit messy if I put too much there, so I think I’ll start tracking lunch etc. separately again)

Ideally, I’d assign ‘points’ to projects and stuff done according to the CEO idea, not quite there yet though (except for the first few days) – admittedly, I haven’t done much but read GTD and tried to get organized these past few days and it doesn’t count as ‘points’, does it? :)

I had quite great success with it for a while and tracked my daily progress (or lack of it) for two weeks or so, now I use it more loosely and don’t keep track of everything, mostly the upper rows above.

I had kept a similar form years ago and actually managed to practise the guitar and write the 2nd half of the first draft of my novel with it!:)
It was inspired by a 'schedule' I kept when studying and later on teaching..
(I then stopped using the original form cause it had too many categories, and it made me feel slightly frazzled and like I wasn't doing enough.. So I now chose only a few categories. Also, some of my priorities changed.. It's a good thing to have them editable.)

Why is it eco? Well, previously I was keeping track in an old planner that had daily forms to keep track of things, and it took a page a day! (With lots of free space remaining.) It’s now one page instead of seven!

This seemed an ideal solution... Until something was causing me a bit of anxiety/annoyance/avoidance (the research etc) and I didn't want to even look at it on the same page as my other weekly stuff! Hm!
I am now wondering how to go around that.. he he.. :)
I still like the idea of a weekly (and yearly) overview!

Not sure if I need a monthly overview too, like what Antony Johnston has, or..?

Am still finishing GTD (and feel a bit confused with all the options, lol!) My health is still not quite allright either.
Not sure if it was the old walnuts or a bit of a flu – or the thought of actually having to do all those projects that are in my head (or my cupboard!) that's made me and my stomach queasy!

The pig flu is in Slovenia already, and not so far away from us either, but who cares? It's mostly a scare to get people to buy meds, most seem to make it just fine without. I'm pretty sure it's not it anyway. Dad's recovered in 2 days, so I hope I shall soon too.

The comforting thing is that I'm actually feeling quite happy to have the flu or whatever it is to take off the pressure a bit, to give me time to reconsider, and get a grip on things (again).

David Allen of GTD says it’s okay to keep a list (or box, or shelf – maybe even a cupboard?) of maybe/someday-projects and re-negotiate stuff as other things happen inbetween! Which is very reassuring!

This form or my other ways of time management may evolve in time... Do post any thoughts, ideas or suggestions! :)

Effective Eco Time Management?

2009-09-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

If you have A LOT of projects, ideas and wishes and things to do... How to track it all and know what to do when? (And not just resort to reading the latest thrilling romance? hm!)

People at writing forums say, 'Just write', but what if you are haunted of things not done yet and vague visions of ideas to be done even before you start?

Enter GTD. Getting Things Done is a famous book on organizing and time management, and there are A LOT of spin-offs online, some for writers or designers or other freelancers specifically. (I've even DONE some of this stuff before, and it was effective, and then just stopped and wondered where my inspiration/motivation has gone!)

GTD is or can be paper-intensive. It is also very vague and unstructured, so how to do it in a more Nature-friendly way?

I am still wrestling with some of the GTD concepts and ideas, and will probably come up with a system of my own.. (I've set up the 'inbox' already and it seems strangely inspiring!) It can be mind-boggling indeed (Read this article! It's hilarious!!:).

A 'tickler' file (no idea if I need one but some people have found it helpful) can be big or small. Tracking or planning your day can be done on a daily or weekly basis (more or less paper intensive).

Judy of the Woods has more fab ideas on flickr and her website!
She makes her own project booklets/binders (out of plastic milk containers and other scrap materials!)

I've done some tweaking of my binders and such (who needs 4 holes if 2 is more handy? And am running out of envelopes used as project folders) but she takes it to the next level!
I'm wondering how doable some of that stuff is, and what I could do too... :)

What DIY projects have you done to keep ORGANIZED and have effective time management?
How do you keep organized and how do you plan and keep track of things?

Been Farm

2009-09-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

Geesh, I'm simply exhausted.

We've been picking the beans at Uncle's farm. Threatened by bad weather, we wanted to pick as much as possible. Some rain appeared inbetween, but we were fearless. Then it got sunny again, and we bravely did all we planned. Including making the beets less crowded. (Pretty sure this is not the right expression but can't find a dictionary:)

My nails and fingers hurt. Not sure if I'll be able to play any guitar today! (& I soo promised myself to start practising with JustinGuitar again! (If Katie Melua and Armenians can play fab in 6 months, maybe so can I?;)

Uncle helped us a bit, then he went to milk the cows...

It's such a different life...
I wanted to write articles today, but beans don't wait!

If 10 years ago someone would be telling me I would willingly pick beans, I would smack 'em!

But with Argentinian beans and Chinese garlic in our supermarkets, with GMO (genetically modified) food threatening on every corner, I am damn proud to be growing some authentic Slovenian food! (Or at least helping out, I'm still such a newbie!)

You know what, picking beans is boring. Especially when Mom and Dad quarrel, and Dad intentionally misunderstands us and mopes, or when the neighbours start loud equipment (I sighed and inserted earplugs).
If we calculated the hours (and fuel and food needed:) it would probably not cost as much as cheap food in supermarkets.

But it's FREE food!! Zero waste food! (If we manage to get it into freezer zero waste style!) From our seeds, completely self-sustainable.
Even if Peak Oil happens, or 2012 or whatever (not that I have my hopes up), we still have the beans and will be able to eat and survive. :)

And one can practise old silly songs in one's head, or listen to Uncle and find out things about planes and technology I had no idea about. (My Uncle ROCKS!)
I was even told about the old ways of handling the beans - zero freezer (and zero bugs!) ways. I hope to remember them and maybe some time put them to practice.

"9 bean rows?" I want to ask Yeats. We did 3 rows of Uncle's and 4 of ours and were quite exhausted! (Some was left to ripen.) Surely, he didn't pick it all in a day?

Maybe next year I'll update myself to an ipod or such, and have music in my ears instead of random noise.
Feels like a short while since we were planting the beans with Aunt. And chatted, talked about many things... Old ways were tiresome, but more sociable in many ways..
The cats are all grown up now, and still very hungry indeed lol.. But farm cats must be hungry to catch mice, no?

I'm still trying to figure out how to do effective time management with farm life included:) And Dad asked me if I lost the buzz for bees yet?!
I'm happier at the farm than in many many other places...

My Eco Friends & Renovation!

2009-08-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Z. has recently moved into a flat with her man, they renovated it together in her Grandpa's attic! And her man is even more ECO than she is!

It's a beautiful location in the hills, everything is green all around.. (No pics, alas!)

They have a few neighbours, so they get fresh milk and eggs & chicken etc directly from the neighbour farmers!

A family of city dwellers (their relatives) was there before and partly renovated the attic already, but they didn't last for long! (They bought apples in store instead of picking them up from under the apple trees!!)
My friend and her man completely changed the layout (it was just 2 rooms before, now they have a complete flat with bathroom, kitchen etc!)

Her man did most of the work himself (sounds like a keeper!!:)
From measuring & drawing the options on computer, to working long hours (after work mostly)... The laminate flooring & even the gypsum boards on the ceiling that the city dwellers left were carefully removed and put back after the new floor layout was made, and new walls built.

They got the shower off the Slovenian equivalent to eBay for 10 euro! Even the roof windows and the kitchen were 2nd hand and VERY cheap too!! Basically the whole flat cost around 5.000 euro, and if they didn't tell me stuff was bought 2nd hand, I would never know!!
It's young, stylish and beatiful - and VERY ECO!

Of course, there have been some compromises, & some stuff was bought new (they still don't buy cheese in a reusable plastic container either) - Still, I'm VERY impressed they even sorted the construction waste by hand into 'can be composted', 'can be used for roads' and 'to be disposed off properly via garbage center' (many people here still just shove stuff into a ditch!)

Even insulation was bought off the eBay-equivalent, leftovers from other people's projects - so it's not uniform, but warm in winter & cool in the summer nevertheless!

Overall, they are a GREAT inspiration! :)
I started eying OUR attic in a new way! LOTS could be done here too!

Fixin' the old beehive! :)

2009-08-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Dad & I FINALLY managed to coordinate our schedules & get round to fixin' the old beehive!

So this is how it looked in May:

It may look romantic, but the shingles are bad in places:

This part got fixed today!
I was suspicious about Dad's methods at first ('just find a few planks without measuring first' - I had to measure!) Ultimately, his eye was successful!
/no new pics yet though!/
It's not 'pretty' pretty yet, it's just fixed so the rain doesn't destroy it further!

The nettles got annihilated & new planks replaced the convenient gap! (That could be used as door and looked great on pictures!)

If I really get into keeping bees and such, then Dad said he'd fix it more proper! (Or maybe make a new one - but I'd prefer to keep old Grandpa's beehive!)

There is one BIG danger though! lol - Dad is afraid!

A whole hive full of wasps!

/source: the lovely Wikipedia, all other photos by me!/

Will we manage to fix the beehive? (& survive?) What to do with the wasps?
I don't want to toxify them!

It's almost like having bees, they hum in and out so nicely.. Just minus the lovely smell of honey!

In fact, if I don't get the bees this year, I don't see any harm in letting them be in the 2nd hive from the right all summer.. How would we fix the roof in the front then tough? Dad is scared!

The smart thing would be to annihilate them (& their home) in May, but I was so fascinated with it!

(Click on the photo to see the fabulous texture better! It's like a work of art! Can you blame me for not wanting to destroy it? - The top shelf is their home of many years! The bottom shelf has drinking dishes for bees.)

/I found myself humming to them a song that goes, 'Bees are our friends!' & they stayed good all the while we were repairing the roof in the back!
It took a bit to convince Dad it was safe to fix the roof in the back, lol! :)/

Now you must know my Dad is a BIG hunk of a man over 6ft (185cm) tall!
It is soo funny to see him scared of such tiny animals!
(He's scared of the bees too & thinks I'm terribly brave for wanting to have 'em!)

I wish I had a better camera - it seems my cousin's phone takes better pictures - especially macros of flowers and such - than this! /sigh/
He said he'd replace it in 2 years & I asked him to take great care of it & give it to me when he replaces it! lol! :)

To the Recycling Bin On Rollerblades!

2009-08-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

.. & it's great exercise too!! :)

I took the tins to the recycling bins (on rollerblades, lol!) & had a nice chat with one of the Mums from our street. She says her hubby likes to drink beer in cans, & then she fishes them out of the trash! The Grandma of the family LOVES to recycle the cans too, as she's heard or read somewhere AIRPLANES get made of them! :)

Not sure if it's true, but it's a lovely inspiration!

They don't wash & recycle the yogurt pots & such, I said we do wash them.. Maybe they'll get inspired too? hm, we'll see..
I did tell her that waste companies say yogurt pots & tetrapaks are recyclable & the other company says they don't take 'em.. not sure if this would inspire her, though.. Still not sure about all this & what would be best (except avoid all yogurt pots & tetrapaks too, as much as possible! I told her we get milk from a farmer & make our own sour milk/yogurt..)

There was too much plastic bottles to carry by rollerblades, we'll probably need the car (the bags are too big & too full!!) We almost don't buy new plastic bottles anymore, these are old ones or our relatives'!

Also carried two (quite heavy) boxes of paper to the neighbours! Who needs weight-lifting? ;)
They have a kid in primary school & next year the kids would collect paper at school, so they agreed to store the paper in their barn attic. (The paper recycling bin was quite full so this was an overall better solution!)
We were decluttering this week, & it was handy to get rid of the paper!

Dad & I had a huge row re: recyclables earlier this week - I demanded a CLEAN bag & CLEAN hands when sorting them, can you imagine?
I told him Mom & I would take over all dealing with recyclables (to prevent further misunderstandings or bad solutions) & now they need to be sorted more frequently, to avoid Dad's on-the-spot decisions of dubious nature & impatience, or misunderstandings.
If you take them to the bins more frequently, it's easier to carry them without a car!
I also put the 'questionable' recyclables in separate bags, so we can at least recycle more often what we know gets recycled for sure.

PS Still experimenting with blog layout, if I messed some things up I deeply apologize! (Had no idea changing the layout might cause some changes & stuff to disappear!) I may experiment with the layout some more, so that it's easy to comment even for friends with older computers! (Apparently some blogs are easier to read & comment on! If you know which, do tell!)

Cocoa & Cookies for the Compost! :)

2009-08-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

If I were a compost, I'd be chuckling happy today!! :)

Mum brought some 'uneatables' from a lady who apparently has a habit of misplacing her bought items - & then little wigglies get 'em!
(Dad & she were painting the walls of her flat, & are now searching for a non-loud fridge for the lady!)

Soo.. our compost got the yummies!!

I was still unhappy about all the food packaging, but at least the food will not be making methane in landfill or contribute to toxic gases in an incinerator!!
/No idea why the ladies of the Charity packed some herbal tea (non-infested) too, maybe because it was dated 'July 2009'? we drink old tea all the time, so..hm? - but as there was cocoa all over the packaging, it did end up in Compost too!/

My Uncle's hens will get the rest of the yummies! (like popcorn, spaghetti, maize, flour, etc!)

Moral of the story: eat your food at the right time & don't put it in drawers & forget about it!
(Or our compost will get it!!)

Yum! Yum! Yum!

PS I found some tiny Easter eggs that were perfectly edible - you have to look if they are 'attacked' by worms or not! mostly ok! lol The Compost *didn't* get these! Yet!)

Is London Tap Water Safe?

2009-08-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Remember my friend Lenny from the post below? The horrible consumer of 5 plastic bottles in a day? (Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but I've seen her grab 3 at least!)
She text-messaged me from London she's been now re-using her plastic water bottle with tap water for 10 days & I'd be Ah, so proud! :)

I am not so sure how safe tap water in London is (apparently there may be swine flu abounding too?) or how safe the plastic bottles in London are?
It truly is an eco moment, don't want it to be at the cost of her health though! So hm, what to say? ;) /in a short text-message?;)/

SOME RESEARCH if you want to READ MORE (still no idea how to put stuff behind a 'cut!'):
Well, About.com & the Mayor of London say it's safe! Londontap.org says it's even better than bottled water!
They do say "80% of our drinking water comes from storage reservoirs connected to the River Thames and the River Lee. The remaining 20% comes from boreholes connected to groundwater stores" but the river water is pre-treated & there's natural purification etc & tests show high quality. They also give some really good facts about bottled water use! (some quite shocking!)
People interviewed by BBC seem mostly a bit sceptical still.. & so do people here (in comments - or could it be people financed by bottled water companies?), mainly with regard to taste. Due to years of marketing or..? (Or does BBC have bottled water sponsors too? hm!)

Here in Slovenia, in our region the water seems quite good! Not sure how it is in elsewhere though! - So, hmm?

Must admit I drank tap water in London on my visit there a few years ago - & am still alive! :) I did mix it with a cheap vitamin-rich powder (admittedly not really 'healthy' but it was yummy!)

Similar tips given in a comment by Golodh, London, UK here:
"- store it in the fridge. The deposit (if any) will sink to the bottom, and you taste less when the water is cold (compare e.g. with beer)." - might be doable in a hostel with a kitchen & fridges
"- drink lemonade. Find a brand of cheap squash you like and top it off with chilled bottled water. It will increase your sugar intake, but at least you'll be able to drink it." - doable, real organic lemon would probably be better though - how does lemon juice affect plastic or metal bottles though? I'm still partial to glass myself!
"- filter with active carbon" to remove the taste (?) - hostels could have these available (hopefully with recyclable/refillable filters!)
Good stuff like magnesium can be filtered out too, so only filter when really necessary!
(Well, if you're Coca Cola you can also spend 7 million pounds on marketing it then! Apparently it was even on CNN a few years ago, not sure if Dasani 'purified tap' water is still sold in UK?)

As for the plastic bottle - glass or maybe metal might be better, 10 days is probably okay but she better stay out of direct sunlight & such?!

Street Theatre Festival!!

2009-07-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

So, for a few days, the capitol of Slovenia was swarmed with jugglers, street performers, circus artists & clowns & such...

(don't ask!;)

... and TRASH!! yikes!

I went there fully prepared. Or so I thought.

Brought with a reusable plastic box with two yummy sandwiches & a cloth serviette & metal fork, & a glass bottle. What else could a girl need?

I told my cousin to bring with a reusable box too, & as much zero waste food as she can.. & to adhere to strict zero waste rules, as to give a good example!

So my gorgeous cousin brought this, & did great on day 2!

My zero waste sandwiches were totally yummy too, but on Day 2, I ran out of them & forgot my reusable container at the hostel - and had to buy... THESE! Yikes!

I quarrelled with the shop lady to give 'em to me in ONE paper bag, but she wouldn't have it! 'Regulations,' she said, & whatnot!
I was too tired and hungry (& there was a queue forming) so I had to take 'em, but I swore to return with my reusable box & demand good service & no trash - or ask for the book of complaints!
(it's paper with foil.. & the foil is.. well, not zero waste, is it?)

Oh & there was a sheep!! :) called Sophy!!

My friend is totally awesome but.. uhm, not so zero waste..
She was bossed into recycling a beer can & bringing back the plastic cups she got us on Day 1..
.. but slipped a Coca Cola can into trash next morning, sigh!!

She had a most gorgeous cloth bag, but left it full of goodies with us to watch, & brought back one of those iffy free plastic bags from the shop!

She also lost my glass bottle! /sigh/

And what do you do if people get baloons for their kiddies? hm!

There was dancing in a public fountain involved, and a foam party.. What can I say? ;)

(& a deep social commentary on the nature of human greed & 'materialism'!)

I tried to make my friends recycle stuff & possibly avoid the plastic bottles, but on Day 3 the plastic water bottles were free (& my friend was convinced the Capitol has bad water?!) so they couldn't stay away from them!!
as if the plastic water bottles had any better water? /sigh/
/of course I was mortified cause I was trying to get some other NGOs to co-operate with the whole zero waste thing - some were even interested!! didn't dare to talk to any more after!! yikes!
There were even some celebrities at the scene, was too shy to talk to them & ask them to take part in our eco Cabaret too - sigh/

My reusable container came handy for the most excellent (spicy!) goulash - cousin however 'wanted her own' cause she was afraid she wouldn't get enough if he put it all in one reusable container! /sigh/ Never argue with a hungry woman!!
(of course that polystyrene foam tray didn't get recycled! /sigh/)

Overall, it was fun! & at least we got the plastic bottles to the recycling bins, which is more than many others did!

I was also shocked at the big amount of many beer & soda cans that ended up in 'ordinary trash'.. (not sure if I dared to photo any of those..? my memory card ran out, so I had to buy a new one - & slower too, yikes! Never buy in a hurry!!- it got stuck in another camera though!)
some bins for organic waste we encountered had really iffy stuff in them too!! (plastic bags the very least, or worse!!)

We were pleasantly surprised with separate recycling bins at the hostel - but they were not labelled clearly so we had to ask what to put where, I'm sure the others didn't bother much!
the color coding is different in every city.. & we don't expect foreign tourists to know our system by colour either, hm?
/it would be great if whole Europe had the same color-coding system!!/

Bye street theatre festival! - hopefully next year the organizers will be persuaded to get separate bins/bags for recyclables too??
Wouldn't it be great??

So, rules for big events:
1. Keep your water bottle firmly in grip! (Yes, even when ordering zero waste ice-cream!!)
2. Keep your friends' recyclables firmly in hand! (or rucksack)
3. Bring a spoon! (even if you think you won't need it!) And reusable container & fork and maybe knife & a napkin. And a cup.
4. Bring extra reusable containers/bento boxes/cups for hungry friends?
5. Have fun, ha ha!! :)

PS I'm not on any of the photos, just my amazing friends - big THANKS for the awesome moments! :) what can I say, I hate being photographed & am rather behind the camera! & don't have all the photos yet, akhem!
Also, for the record - the more risquee photos & vids can be found on YouTube - just kidding!! ;)

Oh, & remember that spicy goulash - I even brought some home in the reusable container & it was a lovely meal too! /eat your heart out, coz!:)/

Geronimo! & they say condoms can't be reusable?;)

2009-06-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

This was in discussion at another forum & I just had to paste it here for all you ladies' (& gents') enjoyment: old-fashioned condom & a nice elderly man who talks about it!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

So I wonder, would something like this still be possible today?;)

Zero waste pizza possible? In a students' dorm?

2009-06-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

I visited my cousin at the students' dorm, & while also meeting many great people interested in zero waste & a better world :D (which is always a good thing!:)
my cousin fed me order-pizza!!

hmm!! It was YUMMY!! but-

could the boxes be made compostable? (or can they be composted as they are?)
why did they add sweets in plastic foil (to throw away)?
& salad in 2 recyclable #6 containers? (that I doubt my coz will wash - forgot to remind her!) They could've brought that in one container - it was one big pizza!!
(Could even those containers be reusable? Are there any already, anywhere in the world?)

If I ever visit her again, I will probably have to insist on another option!!
(or maybe we can just cook some pasta? I saw a student use Barilla carton packaged pasta - but the box wound up in the mixed-waste bin!! Together with some bread etc!! ugh!!)

I didn't see them throw that in! Or I would've said something!!

Students are notoriously 'bad' when it comes to recycling & such!!
/I did fish out a newspaper my coz's roommate threw in their bin though!/
Newspapers can be recycled most easily!! (as opposed to bad glossy magazines!!)

need to research more what is available to them to sort the 'garbage' in!

Feels like the day we started sorting the trash at home - from scratch!

Ooh, there's more work to be done!! :)

Zero Waste Report #8: Can we take the trash out?;)

2009-06-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

Today, Mum asked: 'Can we take the trash out?'

& I said, 'Can we last 1 more week so it's 2 months?'

Yes, the bin is pretty FULL!!

& Mum had 3 quite dirty-looking plastic bags (from spinach & quark! yucky!) she wanted to get rid of in the bin - if we took it out.. I muffled around a bit, not sure what to say.. Then I started drying up the rest of the dishes, & she just washed the darn bags, & I hung them on the line outside to dry!

must say I hang them conveniently above asparagus so it gets some moisture - seems to be enjoying it! ;)

I've also started thinking more about water these days, as it's been really hot, & we discussed it some at the Slovenian forum..

Some said washing the recyclables etc isn't wise with regard to water use, but we use the water we've been washing other stuff in too (if detergent is needed) or pour the nutrient-rich water (from yogurt etc!) into compost!

I re-use water from washing lettuce to put into the tub for watering plants (if there's room) or water the grass beneath the balcony.. Today, I had a crazy idea to have the big tub outside the house closer to the balcony or connected to the balcony so I could pour it all in?! (I hate splashing about too much lol!)

So, hopefully, we'll last till next week & then take the bin out, & start anew!
(& hopefully with a 'stricter' regime again!!:)

EDIT: More than 2 months now!! YAY!!! :) Go Mum!! Go us!! :)

Zero Waste Report #7: Got the flu?

2009-05-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Mum & I went potato-weeding the other day last week, & Mum got the fever.. 39°C & more! at first we thought it was just the sun.. but Sis was down with the fever too...!

So we were quite scared..

We were joking around with the pig flu over at MyZerowaste the other day, but let me tell you, if your family has 39°C + fever, you don't exactly laugh about it!

(& Mum *DID* hug an American last week!)

What to do?

I looked online & got scared - they had all the 'official' signs (almost) - though surprisingly, those were 'just flu' signs too!!

& then I read 'just flu' had killed more people than 'pig flu' & that Rumsfeld (?) was in charge of the Tamiflu company (conspiracy theories etc) - & how Tamiflu had killed 14 kids in Japan or something?

I printed out some of the info & didn't know what to do...

Mum said defiantly she would have no Tamiflu anyway!!

Cousin (another one) said potatoes on the head & on palms of hands can reduce temperature... So we tried this..
Mum drank beetroot juice...
Still, she had 39°8C at night, & that is no joke!!

So she & Sis took the 'official' get-the-fever-down/anti-pain drugs... (see pic above)

They are over-the-counter & readily available in pharmacies.. but still.. there's no recycling sign on the packaging, so...?
Mum did ask if at least the aluminum-only packaging of probiotics (far right) can be recycled?

Also, a by-product of the flu (or whatever it was) was a lot of - TRASH!

You can't deny ill people their hearts' desires, can you?
(& traditional cures for.. stomach trouble!)

Sis & Mum insisted on 'overbaked bread' & butter cookies!
(Sis also wanted unhealthier things & didn't get 'em!!)

I got the more expensive 'overbaked bread' labelled with PP #5 recyclable plastics sign.. (who knows, is it really recyclable & does it get recycled?!)
One could get 2 cheapie ones (non-recyclable) for the price! (& they wished for 'plain one' - didn't complain over what I got 'em though! so I guess it was 'plain enough'!:))
Probably the see-through cellophane-like inner wrappings are - cellophane? (& non-recyclable?)
The cookies are not labelled recyclable in any way!!
/Mum seems slightly addicted to them though!)

I also cooked them a lot of thyme tea & blueberry tea & such.. & eventually they did get much better - I think yesterday Mum had more energy than I did!

So:

So now we have quite a lot in the bin! (Remember, this is Week 6 though! - Oops, week 7!! WOW!!:)
we did let it slip a bit, so hopefully next week we'll get back on track & start anew!
/There is some small trash in the bathroom bin too, including some not-so-pleasant stuff! What can I say? Sis can't be persuaded to go for cloth pads or a mooncup or such! She still swears by plastic throwawayables! /sigh/)

I was bashed & trashed at a Slovenian forum, how unhygienic cloth pads are etc - but I was the healthiest one at home at the time?! (Dad had a bit of a cough/cold/flu before Mum & Sis did! He was quickly over it though!)

& now I can say - flu, indeed (any kind) *IS* creating a lot of rubbish!!

& we all need an 'emergency plan' for zero-waste policy when anyone goes ill!!
/not sure exactly how that plan would look, I am envisioning zero waste overbaked bread - & cookies! - somehow! :)/

But could I (or anyone?) make 'em like they are in da supermarkets?
& how would they keep? (would one freeze them? or eat every week/month?)

Mum & sis are much better, still it's better if they don't go shopping & such.. Dad is not to be trusted to go shopping alone though!!

Today he brought home this (& chicken breast not-in-a-container! /sigh/):

Old non-eco non-fairtrade bananas in a plastic bag WITH HOLES!! - cause they were on DISCOUNT! (cheaper)
Why on earth do they need to be in a plastic bag WITH HOLES?
Doesn't this defeat the purpose? (if they got rotten, the bag would leak.. & they'd still get rotten sooner, cause they were put in a bag-?!)

Ah well!!

I've never seen this done before, usually you'd just take 'em - the packaging industry must really be going crazy - ugh?!!

Which brings us to the point: is it better to be ill with the flu - or - packaging crazy? hmm!!
(Not sure if there is a cure for that!)

LUSH is lush-ous!

2009-05-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

So, on my trip to the capitol I FINALLY managed to get to Lush!

I didn't know quite what to expect so first I ventured into this shop:

Everything looks awfully pretty, & I got excited! - But upon further inspection I saw everything was individually cling-wrapped!! (there were some 'bulk' soaps one could get pieces cut from, they were cling-wrapped & the pieces could be put into my containers - I wasn't entirely convinced by them though.. & wanted to see Lush first!) Also, the prices weren't.. exactly what I expected!

only the samples were 'naked'!

So I ran along, to Lush!

There, I was flabbergasted by the heavenly abundance of naked soaps!!

(the bulk is cling-wrapped, there are 'naked' samples with everything though!)

I bravely resisted the lure of coconut-smelling massage thingies... but did buy a 'naked handcream' (even though it was orange - couldn't resist it! my family buy Nivea in a recyclable aluminum box, but no box would be even better!)

I also ran out of reusable plastic containers at the farmers' market already (I didn't intend to use Tupperware-style containers, as we use those for food, but old cottage-cheese/quark tubs) - got the mozarella-like yumminess (young cheese), organic aged cheese & kaymak (as a butter alternative - all butter was clingwrapped or wrapped in plastified paper..
So I hate to admit I did take their paper bag.. (It's of a lovely design!)

(lesson learnt: the smell CAN get overwhelming - so now I know why everything is in clingfilm! Also, don't put soaps & creams in a paper bag too long!! Or with the labels with ingredients.. creamy stuff can erase the labels! The friendly sales assistant wrote colors on them for me, so I knew at home what was what & didn't try to wash my hands with a handcream!)

I bought not only 1 but 2 (!) shampoo bars, although I have no idea if I'll be able to convince Sis & Dad to use 'em!
There was a 'buy 2 get a metal container free' marketing strategy & I fear I succumbed to it!!

It *IS* a rather CUTE metal container, if I may say so!!

At home, a lightning struck my head: I didn't need to buy the metal container (although it's soo cute!! I could re-use existing ones!!)

Sooo...

(old Nivea boxes put to good use! :D)

All in all, it was rather expensive, but a lovely experience!!
There was a very cute guy teaching a new sales assistant so they gave me a 'tour of the store' (on everything zero waste :D) - & I spent on the soaps almost as much as I would on a dress for the bridesmaids-thingie!!

So, now I'm tempted to make my own soap when we run out of this lot!! :)

PS Does anyone know if old remains of Nivea hand cream are compostable? /sigh/

The Best in Slovenia! :)

2009-05-21T13:22:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I went to see the best in Slovenia: the one council where 50% diversion of waste from landfill is achieved - 2nd best is supposed to be the 2nd biggest city in Slovenia with only 20%!

Plastics are sorted according to type:

& baled - there is still a lot of plastics though! :(

(I forgot to ask which are destined for recycling & which to be made into 'energy' for cement factories & other industrial use abroad! which I'm not too happy about..
We sort of rushed through the facility after a very informative briefing!)

Electronics are collected properly - this is the new system!

& that is why our local TVs were under trees - waiting for the wooden & metal 'cages' to put them on for safer transport! (in containers many cathode tubes with toxic lead broke - hopefully this would be better!)
I am HAPPY to report our local council had already received them & put the TVs & monitors on the wooden storage units too!
(Unfortunately there's a lot of plastic wrapping involved!! :( Hopefully they'll find something better & reusable?)

Styrofoam is collected and given to packaging recovery company too!

If people bring their own waste (wood or other stuff to put into separate containers!), they are given a discount & can reduce their waste disposal bill up to 20%!!

They even compost wood 'big waste'! (grind & compost it, they then perform tests on the compost to figure out what it can be used for!)

They also have a composting facility, & that's the only place where they warn about smell!:)

A new center for handling 'dangerous chemicals' has just been built, & a center for recycling fridges is planned to be built - would LOVE to see what will go on there!

(center for 'dangerous chemicals' looks slightly ominous, hopefully all will be well!! - I was assured the chemicals will not be burnt there, but taken to an appropriate facility abroad to be burnt! - still, this is more incentive to make LESS dangerous chemicals!!)

I asked about recycling CDs & DVDs, & they said there's no one they could give 'em to, so..?!! (Ideally, these would be collected separately too & recycled!)

I had a few nitpicks & considerations (& questions!) - & hopefully I'll manage to return with the Mayor & some local waste company people!!:) Or maybe even with all Mayors of the valley? (That would be truly awesome!!:)

Overall, I think they are really doing awesome things, educating people, raising awareness.. I wish more councils had as dedicated people as here!!

& the capitol? They are 'sloppy'!
(a more 'bad' word was used, lol - & not by me!!)
/I found online the capitol had 90% landfill & 10% diversion of waste in 2004/05! - I was really quite shocked at this!/
Many other councils need to learn more from this waste company!
They even have educational programmes for kids & adults to visit & see everything & learn about better waste/resources management!

I was delighted with how friendly everyone was, & - the lack of smell!
Are these waste/resources management companies of the future?

The council was motivated for change because the landfill was running out of space - with careful management & education of people they managed to extend its life for a few years & saved quite a lot of money!

In the past, there used to be a landfill here. '28m of waste is underneath, with an old clay mine under that,' we were told. The smell was ever-so-faint, almost non-existant..

As our local landfill will be closed in July (due to EU regulations), hopefully local councils could be inspired to make less waste too?

I was given some excellent tips & info, & hopefully we'll manage to make some of them reality!

I'll report more as we go along! :)

Dad's Horrible Sins!

2009-05-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

My Dad is a workaholic.

It's really horrible.

Here in Slovenia, we have a word 'priden' /pronounce: preedn!/ (meaning: good, hardworking) and my Dad is just, well too preedn!!

I wanted to boast about our zero waste week resulting in less waste in a month than in a week before!

& partly, it is true: our kitchen bin is after 5 weeks (!) only half-full, approximately!

Before zero waste week, we made 1 bag of trash a week, now it's been 5 weeks & it's not even fully half-full!

But, the very last weekend before 1 month anniversary, my Dad really did something horrible & ruined it all!

He stuffed a crate full of old dirty glass oil bottles - into the bin! Yikes!

& while I was asking myself on Tuseday (emptying-the-bin day!) how my neighbours could be so stupid to put so much glass into their bin (the bin lorry machine chewing glass is LOUD!! & glass doesn't burn!), I learnt the horrible truth - it wasn't my neighbours, it was my Dad!!

& he wasn't even ashamed of it!!

Door was slammed, Dad got yelled at (& still remained clueless! /sigh/)
I was devastated. I hid under the duvet & cried. (& contemplated staying there forever).

How could I ~~preach to~~ inspire anyone to go zero waste or talk to my local politicians on anything trash if my Dad did such horrible things?!!

The worst part of it is I know it was partly my fault for not figuring out what to do with the bottles in the right time.. (First I asked Dad to give me one week, then one month to figure out..) Mum just thought I was meaning to wash 'em & put into recycling. 'But they were too dirty to be washed,' Dad said..
I was meaning to call the two companies who could tell me more, & kinda hesitated (afraid they'd both tell me different things anyway!)

Then, I got even more furious.
It was precisely because of this sort of thing that all matters trash should be really accessible to the masses (so I or Dad didn't need to ruminate for a month over what to do with the old oil bottles!)
Ideally, all info would be readily available online, & trash consultants happy to answer all questions, & consult people! & the battle against trash should really be increased, not abandoned completely out of all misery!

Like in Star Wars, 'one battle may be lost, but we can still win a war!'

So I went & ~~knitted~~ crocheted not 1, but 2 dish cloths!!

(while watching Pride&Prejudice - the series! to calm my nerves.. & get more 'into' the 'spirit' of ladies' handiworks! I also coveted the lovely hats & dresses!
I didn't even know if I could still ~~knit~~ crochet!
At first I fumbled about a bit, didn't really follow a pattern, due to a storm we had to turn off the PC - & well, doesn't look to shabby! so I was quite proud!)

Do you know the story of a wife who made a doll every time her husband really made her mad? (I think she was ideal wife, never raised a voice, & got rich selling the dolls or something!)

'So it was your pride that got hurt?' Dad asked me 2 days later when I calmed down. & we talked. & he says it was because a relative was coming to visit & he might see the damn bottles!
/sigh, whose pride are we talking about?!/

So then Dad & I made peace, & I thought that was the end of it!

Next day or so, I find our old doggie house (kennel) roofless!!

'Why did you do that, Dad?' - 'Oh, it was old & in the way...'

Grr!!!

I had asked him to donate the kennel to someone 2 years ago already..
'Oh, maybe we'll get a dog...' - Grr! Of course we didn't, Sis & I are still lamenting our old doggie too much!! & everyone's too busy with other things anyway!
(& since neighbours' doggie isn't walked enough, I prefer to take him for a walk!)

He told me to fix it & donate it myself, & well, I couldn't figure out what to do with it in 2 days.. (not really handy with fixing roofs without Dad! & he was busy until today..)

So now we ended up with this:

And this:
without further notice! :(

I want our old doggie house back!! :(

And why all this maddness?
Why is Dad removing everything like a mad man?

Well, our big balcony is to have a wall & a roof over it, & Dad is 'making space'... which is all in all, a good thing. (as water has been going into Sis's room!) I just hate the way he goes about it.
No consulting with the family, no family meeting.. maybe sometimes he casually asked Mum, who half-misunderstood him & gave him the 'go ahead' to 'remove' the kennel? (But where, I said? Mum thought he'd just move it away, Dad saw as permission to annihilate!)

I printed him out an article in Slovenian warning about burning trash or painted wood! (because of dioxins!)

It's making me frantic, both the balcony workings & the promise of 'building trash' - this is another 'sore spot' of Slovenian trash & waste & building companies..
Dad said at first he just meant to shove the balcony tiles by the river (to improve the banks anyway!) - not half a bad idea, though are the tiles & the cement glue they were glued on with really so harmless?
Then, he said, 'he couldn't do it if I'm so strict about it, soo.. he might give 'em to a mate to shove in a ditch where he puts such waste!'
He mentioned some building waste (including plastic - possibly PVC - flooring?!!) being already put there (not ours! but still!!).. Grr!!

So I lamented & wondered if it will ever be sorted, the War on Waste!!

& now I truly saw it as WAR!!

Especially after reading the awesome Saga of the Otori trilogy!

You may win one battle (like my own bathroom, & now the kitchen!! YAY!:)
But you must always WATCH THE BIN!! (One month of my family behaving well made me careless!! so first someone slipped a recyclable chocolate wrapper in the bin, then other things followed, now even the budgie's waste!! grr!!) And that's despite me making zero waste cookies AND muffins for the 1-month anniversary (& the relative's visit!) previous weekend! (Okay, almost zero waste! just previously-used baking powder baggie got thrown away. Better than tons of cellophane or plastic bags or containers when buying cookies!)

I was trying to be zen about it all, & many times didn't 'fly into the air' & make a terrible fuss, cause I thought I was making too much fuss as it was, & wanted to give my folks a bit of a break!

AND, seems like the 'downstairs' will be a new & tough battle!!

Dad has always seen the 'Downstairs' as his supreme legacy, Mum had the upstairs & kitchen etc in her command, his downstairs was where he could be free!!

hmm!!

To make garbage? - I don't think so!

It may be a long tough battle, but already there have been some victories too!!

You know how loud noises REALLY annoy me? I mean, REALLY annoy me!!
My Dad used to mow the lawn in a really non-eco way, with the loud gas guzzler!!

So I objected & demanded it be mown old-style, with a scythe!
'Then mow it yourself!' Dad said, not believing I'd do it!

He didn't even tell me, one day he just started mowing the lawn! I ran outside & yelled!
Then, we negotiated the lawn! He'd mow the harder-accessible half, since he had gas in the lawn mower already (& we have small fruit trees) & I'd get to mow the better half.. I felt quite smug, negotiating it all!
He grunted, but since he had promised to teach me to mow, he had to comply!

(scythe in the backround, I felt like Death's daughter Susan! :)
okay, I didn't use the old-time transport means, I used a wheelbarrow)
but our compost looks nice now:

& I may be ADDICTED to making dish cloths now!! :)
/if only I knew what size to make 'em? 12 - 14 cm might be too small? What do you guys think? Also, Mum suggested a softer pattern-?)

Sub-Mayor Is Slightly Interested! :)

2009-05-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I managed to grab the sub-mayor by the button. So to speak.

Actually, he was fixing a garden gnome, or something like that.

I was tired & hungry, but thought, 'What the heck?' How often do you get a sub-mayor basically on his knees before you?;) So I inspected the gnome & then ASKED! :)

It seems there *IS* political will for a reuse station in our little town, and maybe for making people more aware how to recycle & minimize trash too!! :)

Will it be a simple reuse station like already existing in Slovenia? (Please take a look & comment - the yellow board on the wall announces a reuse station corner - simply some shelves by the wall.. easy to make & very doable.. I was told that mostly they have furniture & not electronic stuff.. It looks a bit, hmm.. uninspiring, though..)

With other options, finding financing (& a space for a mini-store!) might be a challenge.. Two more superstores have expressed interest to come to our little town, sigh!! (& those are a hefty competition for council land!)
'Tourists & visitors come to our beautiful town to see nature, not supermarkets!!' I pointed out, & sub-mayor agreed, & said how supermarkets & building companies also bring jobs & eg sponsored playground (mostly plastic! sigh!) & some money.. (& more trash, I thought..)

I'm welcome to see the sub-mayor again about this (he did have to repair the gnome!) & hopefully we'll talk more with other parties involved in this too..

Ideally it would be a 'real' small shop like these in the USA offering awesome stuff cheaply - just furniture, sins, doors, garden ornaments etc... crockery, art supplies, old candles.. It's 'creative reuse', not just a thrift store..!! :)

Or something like what they have in Nova Scotia, Canada: a longer film on waste management shows a VERY cute store with furniture & other stuff for house renovation (after 19:10) selling bathroom articles, some things like old doors are creatively re-styled into other furniture like kitchen cabinets etc..

One of my favorite ones was this shop in Burlington, Vermont, USA (film also available with more videos about communities worldwide going zero waste on AmericanHealthStudies.org - Prof. Paul Connet's website it seems)
Recycle North is a non-profit that takes even old PCs & fridges, repairs them if necessary, & sells again for a small price (tax-deducted!), low-income families get coupons to get stuff for free..

At the same time it's a job training center for people who'd find it difficult to get a job otherwise.. Now if we could just figure out a way to fund something like this?!! :)
/Both neighbour & I sought for an old computer mouse one can't get anywhere else.. :)/

Apparently The RecycleNorth main shop is being renovated, a ReStore selling artsy crafts is still working! (now that sounds lovely too! :)

Our sub-mayor actually thought a reuse station was quite a nifty idea, & now I have both the local charity, the local waste company & a country-wide electronic-waste collecting company slightly interested. :)

Yes, I made some phone calls this week!! :)

If only one could get some easily available EU or country-wide resources..? hmm?
/More phone-calls & e-mails to write next week!/

Apparently the computers on grass (under trees) were due to a change in system of collecting the old computers & TVs etc.
I agree that the old system wasn't good - old TVs were shoved into big containers & apparently a lot of them broke.. so the electronic-waste collecting company now switched to a different system, but apparently was overflown with demand & they didn't have enough of new-style collecting plateaus, so...?

They promised to bring the plateaus this week, we'll see if that's true..

I also talked to a wonderful friend of mine who's now almost-married off to another town & has a big chunk of potential eco-farm (belonging to her new hubby-to-be relatives!) to work on with her man! She gave me lots of useful ideas & recipes! & even some names of eco-aware people in our hometown to contact next! (& I did offer my services!:)

Interesting, how great minds think alike, the synchronicity of it all.. Mrs Green & her guest blogger Sophie blogged about 'non-monetary' work, land & crop exchange this week.. & JustGai was Grow Zoned!
I was thinking lately too, how land & food can be exchanged with no monetary investment!! We got some sausages & some wood from our relatives just cause Dad helped at their farm! & this friend got wonderful workable rested land to use & work on for free! (from her man's relatives!)
Mum & I planted beans & pumpkins at Uncle's farm (even the ones with non-peel seeds!) 'Free food' again! :)

Oh, & I quarrelled with our neighbour on whether tetrapaks can or cannot be recycled!
Overall, quite a productive day & week! :)

Sub-mayor seemed slightly interested on how we managed to reduce our waste after zero waste week too!! /& glanced uneasily at his big bag of waste!;)/

Do you have a reuse station in your town? What is it like? What do they have there? Just furniture or also other stuff like clothes or electronic gear? How has it been financed & set up? Just curious!! Do tell!!

What do you think about the different options for reuse stations presented here?

A Day At the Farm :)

2009-05-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

So now you know my Uncle has a farm.

It's not an eco-farm, Alas!

He has about 6ha grass, which is the average size of a small farm in Slovenia.
(Other stuff is woods & hills, I mean woods in the hills mostly.
The grass is mostly hills too, though the hills used to be fields earlier on, before the farm went 'modern'.)

The place is called the Slovenian equivalent of 'Beautiful Field', & they do say that there is one 'beautiful field' in the whole tiny valley/village!

My Uncle sort of has 1 'good field' too.. ;) Hills & woods all around, mostly..

And there is the beehive.

I had permission to rummage, though without a digital camera I didn't dare do any significant progress!!

We found some treasures though.

Uncle found a bottle with silver bullets, uhm, small lead bullets.
Then there were 2 perfectly okay glasses for petroleum lamps.

Some of the bee-thingies seemed okay-ish/still usable too..
Though hornets and wasps had had homes there too..

Some tiny wasps and - wild bees? (bigger than bee, smaller than bumble bee-hmm?! - but Uncle says wild bees are tinier than normal bees?) came into 'lookout' - when I started rummaging around.. (Uncle says wasps look for places to make nests.. My romantic imagination likes to think some of Grandpa's bees went wild & came looking for home, or check what's happening - if someone's gonna save & salvage their home. I can be quite horrible this way!:)

The beehive is a real dump, I was awfully sorry it had come this far..
Sort of thought Uncle would see to it that it stays okay..
And that beekeeping is a 'man's business. :)

My Dad is afraid of the bees. lol!!
Uncle isn't afraid of them, he just has no joy for them. Prefers mechanical stuff & such: he okayed the old hinges: some elbow work may be necessary, but they could be restored. YAY!!

Apparently at a time my Grandpa ~~smuggled~~/kept some stolen nails & wire in the beehive that his ex-lover the maid stole from a building site where she worked..
It's all horribly romantic, & quite new to me, as it unfolds before my eyes...

He 'hid some things he didn't want kids to find' (& take apart, there were 6 illustrious kids at the farm!) in the beehive!

There seems no logic at what is there..

Okay, some of it is beehive equipment.. Wooden boxes for the bees, including one to catch a new bee family when it takes off..

Some fabric (from old bags!) to burn and make bees dizzy & calmer.. (equivalent to a more expensive fancy gadget!) No it isn't marijuana!! :) - Or is it?!!

And there are old magazines & newspapers there..
Or have been, I took them to a (hopefully) safer space. Some beekeeping magazines & some church magazines for kids or farm youth from 1935, half gnawed through, copies of 'Reporter' from 1953... :) with headlines like 'Horrible politics of the Soviet Union'... (approximately at the time when there was the end of love affair between Yugoslavia & Russia..)
'Finest Love Letters' and 'Lives of Saints'... there seems to be no logic!! :)

I try to piece together the pieces of my Grandpa's life through this mozaic of illogical gnawed-through pieces of his soul.. like scribbles into advertisments for 'magic potions'... (not very different from what some modern internet marketers claim!)
He just wrote what he went to get (untranslatable but hilarious!), or some silly sayings..
Scribbles of numbers on the beehives... 1+2+2=6 (?)

I wonder if there's a special code..? :)

some half-destroyed tools, bits & ends... some homespun flaxen yarn... (throwawayable, Uncle says, cause it's so dirty.. I can't seem to part with it..:)

Alas, Uncle had given permission to a neighbours' kid to rummage the beehive & take what he wants, when he started his own beehive.. Maybe I can take a visit sometime & see what they have taken..?

Another discovery in the attick: the old spindle & a tool to wrap wool on!
They're in really bad condition... Not sure what it will take to restore them to their former glitter!!

Some horrible clothes & some papers that belonged to my Grandma too.. I know even less about her than about Gramps.. Who was this tiny old sometimes-bitter woman that taught me to cook carrot soup (I forgot now!) & claims to have sufferred 'irrepairable damages' in a car accident I've known nothing of?!

Stuff to find out.. Stuff to de-clutter & polish & shine.. wonderful old wardrobes & chests - will they fall apart or stay in all their glory?! (Nothing fancy, just peasant/farm stuff.. but pretty.. I'd love to have 'em! :)

What's in the 'secret drawer' of the chest? (If anything?!)

I didn't do much at the farm (we usually do more..) but I felt quite tired .. maybe all the excitement & weight of the well, not centuries, but quite close..? :)

Dad & Uncle may not be happiest if I rummage through old memories, not all of them have been happy.. & I'm still 'too weak' to do any serious work! (But stubborn enough to at least make up for a little of it!)
Uncle, Dad, Coz & I also don't agree on farm politics & eco stuff etc.
At least the puzzle of why-Slovenian-farms-are-not-so-eco is coming together too.. And we got some apples from Uncle's orchard.. (They're in horrible condition mostly, but still yummable! Ideally they'd be sorted a month ago!:)
Uncle also has adorable kitties!!

So all-in-all, it's been a lovely day...

'I got bored of the computer,' I say, & my Dad is quite thrilled!! :)

My Dad Rocks!! :)

2009-04-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

I just had to say it, lol!! :)

Well, today he brings up the mail & says,

"Oh but I miss the junk mail a bit." (maybe he used the word catalogues)

I freeze a bit, just washing the dishes...
Then he grins & says, "Not really."
I smile.

"I liked them at first," he says. "But now there has been too much of them entirely!!"

I don't know what magic Mom has made over him, or what made him change his mind, just glad he did!! :)

I was fully ready to keep putting on new & new 0.50 EUR stickers! - but now there is no need!!:)

I am just so happy!!

My Dad deserved a big KISS, & he didn't even know why!!
(I had to explain it to him!:)

He still thinks more junk mail would be acceptable than ideal - 'Just the shops near us', but luckily the post office has gone so overboard with it, that he's okay with even the 'no junk mail' option!!

And Sis doesn't really have a 'right to vote' lol & was warned with paying 50 EUR if she peels it off!;)

So yeah, the world isn't yet perfect, but my Dad almost near is!! :)

Now hmm, wondering if my neighbours could use some of these stickers, hmm...?!!

A Day After - Ugh...!!& a Secret Revealed!!

2009-04-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

1 day after 'official zero waste week''s over, & both Dad & sis have gone shopping separately!

At least Sis brought her reusable bagpack & a previously used plastic bag!

Dad is not to be trusted though! (forgot to bring with more than 1 previously used plastic bag! so we have another already-torn mostly-useless baggie at home!) - & both he & Sis bought small packets of coffee!! (separately, each 2 x 100g!)
Just 100g of coffee is in a package almost the same size as 500g!!

Why they couldn't buy it together, is beyond me!

'But this is cheaper,' Sis says.
'I don't want _my sis_ telling me I'm using her coffee,' Dad grumbled.
(We only tease him cause he tells other people they can't drink coffee cause it's unhealthy! And because, well, he gets rheumatism back & is too-cranky if he drinks it!!)

Today, as I brought out the packets for a 'photo shoot' he exclaimed he had no idea we had so much coffee in the house!
& he said 'smaller packages are better, cause coffee doesn't go rancid in them so quickly' - I suggested storage in a tin box separately, & he said we'd just forget it then! So next I suggested storing extra coffee in a glass jar!
We may try this, keep your fingers crossed! Or do you have any better suggestions?

And Sis has bought 1 liter of yogurt in a tetrapak (even though we still have homemade! /sigh!/)

The stop-mail sticker is on its place on the door (Mom put it there!) - 'Dad hasn't noticed it yet!' Mom says...

I hoped I could relax a little after the zero waste week.. no such luck..?!

I feel quite hopeless about it all..

I need to control shopping lists somehow.. (Dad had anti-roach poison 'Biokill' on his list & luckily left it on the table for me to cross it off & promise I'd look for info online. After all I we DID manage to scare off the ants with no iffy chemicals whatsoever!!)

Well, Mom went shopping today too, brought some naked kiwis etc (with reused plastic & cloth bags!)

And now you probably want to know what Mom did!! :)

Final hint:

Mom wanted to boil some 'witches's brew' of anti-slug/anti-snail potion (to pour around 'attacked areas'!), & for me, it made no sense to just, uhm, kill 'em - in nature, animals mostly just kill for food, no?!! - & it was zero waste week!! :)

soo...

This is what we had for lunch yesterday! (among other things):)

Some animal lovers (like my Sis!) may be shocked - but actually, it was not so bad!
/And as she's never been vegetarian, I think it's pretty hypocritical of Sis to go 'Oooh!'/

We may need to cook 'em more, & some recipes & pre-prep ideas online are widely contradicting, but as a recipe says, anything with sauteed onions must be good!! :)

I didn't think my Mom would actually do it - but must tell you one thing - my Mom is BRAVE!

& woe for anyone who comes between her & her veggie garden...!! Oh my!!
/another poor rodent suffered a similar fate the other day.. I actually *did* briefly contemplate barbecue too - 'Look how nicely fat he is', Mom said - but you never know what they've eaten before, like Sis said.../

& yes, I did feel sorry for them & was briefly grossed out & fascinated, all at the same time.. I do admire Sepp Holzer in his approach to growing anything (if there are pests, he just plants something they like better than his trees!)
We don't know what snails could love better than our lettuce though?!!

Am contemplating to get his book that was recently published here in Slovenia, & hopefully discover some of his secrets! :)

Until then, I may have to agree with an article I came across: 'many people consider snails to be pests' (& use horribly toxic stuff or terrible methods to get rid of them! - ok, some ideas here are not-so-cruel & might be worth a try too?) - but actually, as another article says, 'they're a good source of protein?!' & completely free too!! So...?! :)

Zero Waste Week: Results!!

2009-04-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

So, this week has been the Zero Waste Week for us!!

What was the result?

Of course I wanted to take a pic of the 'main bin' (the one outside'!) to check that no one managed to sneak any rubbish outside!!

I expected to find the bin empty:

Now imagine the shock:

And it wasn't even our rubbish!!

There was a tell-tale indicator on the top (removed immediately!) & 7 more in the neighbours' bin!!

Yes, Dad and the neighbours had had a drinking party outside (the neighbours were sawing wood!) & this was the horrible result!

I promptly picked them up & washed them & they are waiting to dry & be recycled!

If they had the nerve to put rubbish in our bin, I had the nerve to take some out of theirs to have it recycled!

(my neighbours' bin, the attick neighbours': 2 adults+2kiddies - offending recyclables eliminated already!)

(my neighbours' 2nd bin: the downstairs neighbours, Grandpa&Grandma's - Honestly I don't know why they didn't put the rubbish into their 2nd bin? - Maybe the ashes from fire were still hot?

They are 4 adults: Grandpa, Grandma, the young ones+2 kiddies, and yes they have 2 bins! I've already talked about the rubbish problem with their Grandpa@small bin, & the Mum of the attick@big bin. She said, 'But we are 4!' & I wanted to send her to Mrs A for training!!
This is the Mum that bought her son a plastic Wallee!! instead of teaching them how to make less waste!!:)
Of course she works in a shop (mini-supermarket!) & that makes it difficult to eat healthy & make less waste!!

But how much garbage did we make? Did we manage to go 'zero waste' completely?

Alas, no. But it was a good try. And I'm VERY proud of my family cause they have behaved so well & made so little garbage!!

REMEMEBER, this is the results of TWO weeks worth of garbage!!
(the bin in the front='mixed trash')

(I contemplated whether to throw the old garbage away & start with a clean slate, but that wouldn't be zero waste, would it? The plastic bag accounts for something too!)

All in all, the 1st day was the worst:
- the butter wrapper
- tiny plastic from Dad's tax ID pocket
- plastic sausage-wrapping
- AND a new wrapped butter was started! (with expiration date 20/4/2009 so not using it up wouldn't be zero waste!)
I was totally frazzled & thought I'd 'lost it'!! ;)

Then, other things mysteriously followed: (but surprisingly less & less garbage!;) - I taught people to just leave stuff on the counter!)

- unidentifiable white plastic foil chocolate wrapper
- a potentially recyclable #4 amaranth plastic wrapper (someone was too quick!!)
- a mysterious bit of paper towel? - we may fish it out again!
- some dirt from sweeping the floor on Saturday
(Sis did it! I've gotten used to taking dirt outside & just putting it under trees.. Truth is I'm in two minds about it - as we have wooden floor & stairs lacquered with conventional=toxic varnish, & PVC hall flooring..? so I wasn't as decisive & gung-ho about it.. What do you guys think?)

- tiny bit of thread from mending my pants & putting in new/re-used elastics! Haven't sewn for (at least) a decade so this is a new WAHOO!!;) And it's easier than I expected! darn!;) I also remember heaps!

- maybe some other tiny bits I've missed!

I did remove the non-cloth-hankie plastic wrappers (#4 plastics!) seen above, but honestly they did smell & I'm not sure if we won't toss them out anyway!
(Alas, there's foul smell in the bin! - due to the butter wrapper & the plastic sausage!)

I hate to say one of the yogurt tetrapaks (seen on a pic later on!) was washed too late too, & did smell.. so not quite sure what to do with that either!

There's also some used paper hankies & some hair in the bathroom bin, not quite sure what to do with those either.. (If it were my hair, I'd compost it, others' hair is chemically treated with shampoos, so I'm not sure..?)

The bird's droppings (our sweet budgie's) are collected separately, to be put under trees also.. I read it's okay to put them in compost, but my family is afraid of avian flu or such, & don't wanna risk it..

There's also plastic foil from the 'eco bananas' - I'm thinking to write to the company! & there will be the waxed paper from the carob yummy spread..

The good news is, Mom's made butter AGAIN! :)

(pic from 1st time she made it, no bought yogurt this week!;)

I do hope homemade butter becomes a true tradition!! (Mum said she only used cream from 2 or 3 milks - we get 2 liters at a time: The trick is to take away the cream before Dad manages to usurp it, & after there is some bigger amount of cream already!)

It was surprisingly easy, after all the terror & sweating, my family did their best...!! And I ADORE them for it!!

I felt like a really horrible person for making them do all these things, Mum's gone a bit ill in the process, it was a sucky week weather-wise..

I wanted to bake them a yummy zero waste treat (ispired by the lovely presents from Mrs A & Mrs G!), but alas Mum's bought some biscuits in an unindentifiable plastic container at the fair on Sunday! /sigh/

Must make sure to tell my family of my baking attempts well in advance! /at least she was supporting local economy!/
Mum also bought cheese, & while it wasn't zero waste (came in a plastic bag!) it was local & homemade - & we might turn this into zero waste cheese if we network with the supplier wisely!

The Zero Waste Week was a great learning experience!!

I managed to buy meat in a reusable container AND fix my pants, & I don't think I'd have done it without the zero waste week!!
We also made 1/2 of a weekly menu (after a veery long time!), & remembered to use up the sour cabbage & turnips, before they'd gone completely bad!

We realized this is easier than we expected, but our 'recycling' biz will have to be streamlined a bit (& I may post more about it in advance!)

I hope we will continue to make so little waste - or even less!! :)

Dad was unhappy with all the recyclables on the kitchen counter! - Well, they have to dry somewhere! (He suggested we collect them in the 3rd 'bin department' & Mum rebelled she needs that space for her chemicals=cleaners!)
How & where do you girls & guyz wash & leave them to dry? Do you have a separate box or something?

/Weening Mum off the chemicals may be a learning process & I don't expect her to go 'cold turkey'!/

Also, the recyclables need to be in designated places or they are 'forgotten' (& start to smell!) They also need to be washed regularly enough!
(This is easy if 1 person both makes & washes them, if it's 2 or more different people, & if the kitchen isn't spiffy, err, errors or miscommunication can occur! Stuff can get lost in the jungles of the counter!!)

To avoid packaging from dishwasher tablets (& make Mum happy!), I washed more dishes this week than ever!!
(The eco detergent doesn't wash so well, is a bit abrasive to dishes, & we're not 100% sure the 'recyclable' wrappings are really recyclable!)

Still to call about what actually *is* recyclable in our council.. For the purpose of zero waste week we just assumed everything that (the council & the packaging) says is recyclable is recyclable!!

Alas, I made no dish cloths! & I only got the beekeeping magazines today..
The old beehive is still waiting to be fixed too..

It was raining a lot, so luckily not much noise until Saturday & yesterday/today! YAY!! (& today the neighbours' wood is all sawed, lucky me!!)

We did some work in the garden today, & I went to fetch some zero waste honey.. :)

Oh, & I can't tell you what Mum did - it's too horrible!! - & the post is already too long! Must wait till next time! :)

Aww, my Dad bought me earphones!! :)

2009-04-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Not the fancy, ROCKSTAR earphones!

The hardcore, anti-noise earphones!! :)

And they are naked too!! :)

/pic found here/
Well, almost!

Amazingly, they came in just a thin cardboard box, with paper instructions. I was quite delighted!

Not quite sure what they are made of (their cousins were said to be made of PVC, so checking would be ideal) & they do say the ear-thingies are replaceable & to be replaced 2x a year :(

Not sure if I'll keep them either, must test if they aren't too heavy for my neck!

**
As for pics about what Mom did - didn't manage to get them yet! (can you tell I'm just fiddling with my neighbours' digital camera & still working out its kinks?;)
Also, I may have more to report tomorrow!

But this is a hint:

/pic found at this gorgeous blog with more amazing pics/

PS. 2 plastic wrappings of non-cloth-hankies made it to the bin today, invisibly, must go fish 'em out! /sigh/
Advice #2 for zero waste week: always check the bin first thing in the morning before anyone manages to get anything else in it!

PPS. The chocolates are well-hidden now! Sis went & hid some of them herself!! :) Bless her!!

Zero Waste Report #5: Zero Waste Week!! :)

2009-04-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

This is how we started - quite good, from last week!! no?
(Truly only sis & I were at home most of the time!)

(paper on the right, mixed trash in the front, Mum's cleaning chemicals & some plastic bags to use for trash in the back)

Okay, it isn't finished yet.

& methinks we won't do so fabulously as Mrs A (who only produced one plaster!) - but it was a great experience anyway, & we did do some things that well, we I just kept putting off before.

DAY 1: Monday
I managed to talk to a local popstar's Mum about music & garbage - all before breakfast!
(maybe she'd be interested in doing/supporting a Swaporamarama/swishing event?!! keep your fingers crossed!)
She also said they find new homes for all furniture & clothes (teenage girls get pretty excited!)

Dad threw butter wrap in the bin. I yelled: 'No! We have zero waste week!'
He was slightly confused. 'You promised,' I said. (Actually, this was extending it a bit, he didn't actually promise, but I said it was my wish for birthday!)

Then, he needed a plastic wrap for his tax ID & I happily provided one I got in the bank the other week & felt guilty about!
'But it doesn't fit in my wallet!' he said & asked Mum to cut it off.
'Oh no,' I was desperate! 'It'll land in trash!'
'Oh no it won't,' Mum said, 'It'll end up in recycling!'
(Hmmm..? unlabelled unidentifiable plastics..?!)

I helped prepare zero waste lunch (with leftovers & lamb's lettuce from garden! & hokkaido pumpkin from the cellar!)

Went to town in search of eco yarn for dish cloths, didn't find any.

In the evening, some plastic-sausage wrapping was in the bin too! /sigh/
(Sis decided to fry some, it was a bit old already.. so I guess it's better to eat it than throw the whole sausage away!)

/My secret sneaky plan was to just extend the zero waste week so we will have 1 whole week of 'zero waste'!! lol!! hmm..?!
Of course I didn't tell anyone yet!!/

DAY 2:
The unidentifiable plastic foil chocolate wrapper ended up in the bin too!! :( Grr!! (I know I should've hidden it!! even Sis says it's better to just hide chocolate from her!! ugh)

On a happier note: My Dad is now anti-nuclear! :)
/He used to be pro-nuke! so this is huge accomplishment! :) not exactly sure how it happened, but it did!/
He also accompanied Mum & me to the place where computers lie on the grass..
(Though he still refuses to accompany me to a great site where they have best trash-separating record in Slovenia! 50% diversion from landfill! The #2 is said to achieve only 20% diversion! - I called the probably #1 trash expert in Slovenia & he invited me to visit! I'm so excited! Can't wait!
Or to the sub-mayor, his mate, about the computer monitors & TVs etc. 'It's none of my business,' he says!!)

It would be best if the computers would be put into a container, the expert said. Like my neighbours figured out already (I talked to a bunch of them about this!)
Most were supportive that this isn't right, one who used to work for a similar trash company said the computers are probably waiting for the other company (that deals with them later on) to pick them up!

Everything is behind the fence...

So does it make sense for the trash company to put the monitors into their own container, or would it be better to rent one from the 2nd PC-handling company?
I am still a bit confused about it all, & too much of a chicken to call anyone! (& not sure who to call or see about this!)

Dad bought some bread in paper bags, even though we've discussed cloth bags before. But he didn't know where the cloth bags were! /sigh/

Oh, & my Mum fished paper towels out of the mixed trash! (Quite promising!)

The bin magically doesn't seem to have any more trash than before!! YAY!! :)
/am afraid to ask where Sis's non-cloth-hankies end up!/

DAY 3: EARTH DAY!! - sunshine!
Mum & I planted the tomatoes to the garden, Dad worked in the garden almost the whole day too..

We planned a fancy meal to celebrate Earth Day, but ran out of chicken!(that was stored in reusable plastic containers in the freezer)
So I finally braved out & bought meat with a reusable plastic container, at the mini supermarket!! Quite an accomplishment for this ex-vegetarian!!

A keep-it-cool bag inside a cloth bag! Mum invented this & it looks & feels pretty nifty!

Not only that, I even washed the darn plastic containers by hand! (yuk!)
/It's better to not put plastics into the washing machine, as heat makes them emit iffy chemicals../
Oh, things we do for Earth!! /I think I wouldn't do it if it wasn't for Earth Day & zero waste week!!)

I also managed to buy 1 eco healthy carob spread (Sis complained 'there was nothing in the fridge!') - alas, not ideal packaging!
glass jar, & recyclable #5 PP lid, but unrecyclable wax paper under the lid! Also, the lid not so easily reusable as metal lids for new jams or such!
It seems the local stores have only jams or pickles and sauces, or unhealthy sugar-laden choco-spreads in fully reusable glass jars!! :(

& I did buy eco bananas in a non-naked state! /Oi!/ They seemed to be going bad & I feared they'd just chuck 'em away at the store! (better to just chuck the packaging - plastic foil! :( - I did talk to the sales assistants & they agreed less packaging would be better!!)

In the evening, Mum & I went to a book presentation by a relative!
He told about the old times & how things were done then.. Very interesting!
The book is very interesting too!

/I was afraid to approach the sub-mayor & mayor & network & ask them about the PCs on grass & under pine trees though.. Chicken!! It just.. didn't seem an appropriate setting, & I thought more privacy for such discussions would be better! - Also, didn't want to 'steal' attention or limelight from the author!!/

DAY 4: Thursday - rainy
I read the book by the relative.. very interesting!
Was amazed how much hard work was necessary for some things in the old times (& decided there must be better ways!)

Mum & I went shopping. Bought only 2 naked avocados in another mini-supermarket! (We wanted to buy more, but what?! Almost everything was overpackaged, or unhealthy, or both!!)
I am a horrible sister!! - I didn't let Mum buy yogurt for sis in tetrapaks or plastic packaging!! (We have sour milk/homemade yogurt at home!! If sis wants bought dairy, she can buy it herself!)

Mum & I bought a sticker for 'no catalogues'!
Mum had been swearing at the damn catalogues before, & said she'd buy it!
'But what will Dad & Sis say?' - 'Oh it'll take a while before he even notices it!' lol!! My Mum ROCKS!! :)
/pic & explanation in Slovenian on what is & isn't stopped by the sticker found here - stops supermarket spam mail, to not get free newspapers you need to contact the post office & pay a small fee again/

We'll see.. It's cheap, less than 0.50 EUR - comes with a bit of waste, though - as all stickers do! It prohibits by law to put unwanted mail/catalogues in the mail box! (Got an odd look from a post office worker that always gives me odd looks, but she gave it to me, lol!)

& if Sis peels it off, she can be fined about 50 EUR?!! (Much bigger penalties for a biz, up to 5.000 EUR! - article in Slovenian)

DAY 5: Friday - today!
not sure what will happen - stay tuned! :)

OMG My Mom just did WHAT?!!

/will let you know as soon as I get some pics!/

Happy Zero Waste Birthday!! :)

2009-04-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well, word of advice: if you're thinking of having a zero waste week tied in with your birthday, uhmm, maybe not.

Thing is, at a certain age, a girl's b-day refuses to be a day of all delight, but becomes a day of somewhat dreaded anticipation!
Mix this with dreaded zero-waste week anticipation (will they or won't they?), and possibly some April-like weather, & you get yourself a big bundle of nerves! lol (which can maybe only be soothed with some zero waste cocoa!)

Also, there is a question of pressies (or their wrappings!) - as a fellow Slovenian zero-waster from a forum admits.
Not to even consider any b-day parties or such!

(gorgeous pic & lovely gift-wrapping idea found here)

So, this year I'm refusing to have any party or such, & also I'm refusing PRESENTS!
Yes, you read it right!

'What shall we buy you?' Dad said.
'Nothing!' I almost yelled. (I had been black-mailing them into co-operating with the zero waste week & hopefully this'll work?!)
I asked for a HUGE present: ZERO WASTE WEEK!

I think they would much rather buy me a car.

So, forgive me for a bit anguished post the other day. It was 2am and there was still BIG NOISE from an outside party-in-a-tent at a local hotel! Grr!!
(Horrible music too, or I would've gone there!;))

And Dad had been cutting wood (loud!) almost whole of the day!
With my hyperacusis (collapsed tolerance for sound) - not a fun time to be around at all!

So, with wood-cutting being on the menu for the next week too (by Dad & then the neighbours!) I must reconsider my zero waste week a bit.

You know, I had such romantic notions!
I would cook excellent zero waste meals & knit dish cloths. /sigh/

Now I may need other things to do to take me away from home (and how can I police my family & see if they behave if I'm away from home?!)

'We'll just toss things in the toilet,' Mum said.
'No waste - does this mean no poop too?'
Yes, they were kidding me (most likely - I hope?!) but still, after reading Mrs A's excellent back posts (of when she was getting ready for a zero waste week) I see I've left a HUGE step out - that of a family meeting!

I mean, I've tried to inspire Mum with videos of Little Miss Greeen & Jen@Clean Bin. I've talked to her about the importance of these things (as we all know, & as Dad today confessed, women are the decision-makers in everyday shopping for groceries etc!)
I scared Dad with reports of plastics being toxic, & talked about John Costignane's efforts (guys can relate easier to other guys!:)

Still, I'm feeling very doubtful if this will work.
I didn't manage to get to the farmers' market this Saturday (as planned), Sis is still sick (& refuses to use cloth hankies) & Dad has threatened to marry me off & have it done with.

What gives me hope is that they still took with a small reusable plastic container to get cake for Sis in (I refused any cake, even for my birthday! - felt really yucky after eating some at Uncle's anniversary!!)
/& I didn't bake cause I thought Sis didn't really need the extra non-nutrients!!/

Also, I realized we had a very zero waste lunch yesterday, quite 'by accident' (& without any further planning): homegrown potatoes & lettuce, & sauteed rabbit liver (frozen in reusable plastic containers) with homegrown onions.
(image found at WorldCommunityCookbook with mennonite recipes and such!)

Also, there was very little trash in the bin - a package from frozen peas & a few small cellophane wrappings (from previously bought dried fruits - BZW - before zero waste/visit to Farmers market that is) and such..

And Mum did buy just 2 yogurts & some tuna cans in the regular shop the other day! (She was afraid to buy anything else, bless her!)

Ideally we'd have talked more about all this & planned meals well in advance, but it was really hard to keep track of Mum & Dad coming & going, they've been chopping & sawing wood at our relatives' farm.. (& a bit resentful I didn't help, I'd love to but noise really really isn't a good idea to be around! even with earplugs, it's mostly too loud!)
Dad & I had a good talk yesterday, & I hope he'll come to terms with this.. He thought I was 'okay already' (& indeed I was much better than before) my hyperacusis still had occasional lapses though.. (especially if sleeping 4 hours only!)

(awesome pic found at this awesome site: ExperienceChocolate!)

& I hate to admit the chocolates I had gotten (from Granny & other relatives) say they are in recyclable #5 wrappings (?) - in fact the ones that aren't weren't even for me to nibble on!! /blushes/
/I hate to admit they're the yummiest ones though, so I guess I'll have to write to the manufacturers to consider different packaging!!/
I think I'll trade one of mine for one of those, but what to do with the packaging? It's half eaten so ideally it would be put into hiding until ZW week is over?!!
Some Euros by Granny were highly appreciated anyway, & at least those are zero-waste!;) /I wish they weren't accompanied with unhealthy yummies though!!;)/
& I did shudder at the sight of a Harry Potter DVD too (yes I'm a secret fan!) - as CDs & DVDs are non-recyclable here! /sigh/ But honestly, for a HP fan, this won't be trash for many many years - hopefully!! :)

(image found here)

I still haven't called the package retrieving company, out of fear what I'd find out mostly! (& to not put a hamper on my Sis's & Mum's recycling efforts & motivation! hmm!)
Sis has a solution for all our trash & $$$ worries: start a recycling biz! /sigh/
I did tell her how chemically iffy such factories can be, hope it'll get into her recycling-yes, reduce-no pretty head?!
(Of course that *is* the same person who thinks that CocaCola is the world's answer & healing aid for everything!!)

& I've yet to talk to local authorities of the street!
If the weather will hold I may venture out to Lush, or try to source some organic cotton for the dish cloths anyway...

& what on earth do you do with plastic bags that were used to hold meat in the freezer? (Mum says wash 'em & put in the plastics recycling bin, as our green guide booklet says plastic bags go in the recycling bin-?! Is it really safe to put 'em in?)

I think we may just have a let's-assume-they-recycle-everything-they-say-they-recycle week, & see how it goes!

Will we manage to go zero waste or not? at all?

Will I (& the rest of us!) be able to resist all the chocolate?!!

Stay tuned!

& if you want to give me something, I will shamelessly copy LittleMissGreen & ask for zero-something to avoid landfill! Maybe you can finally make (or knit?;) some dish cloths, or give up just a little something? doesn't have to be a lot!
any little bit will do! :)

My Mum Made Butter!! :) Yum!

2009-04-17T15:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been hunting for zero waste butter everywhere...

Truly, I have...

And no naked butter in sight! /sigh/

So after a neighbour said her boyfriend makes butter(!) & I lamented at home how Dad eats all the cream before we'd be able to make some, & gave them as an illustrious example! - finally, some cream was saved this week.. (it also helped Mom & Dad were away from home most of the time! making wood at Aunt's..)

Mum just used a little pot & a hand mixer.. then she showed me how she pours away the 'water' (I drank most of it - yum!) & just rinses the butter & does things to it with a spoon.. (no fancy equipment used here, just going about it as simple as possible!)
/pic found on Wikipedia/

I talked of what people online say or use.. (so Mum used a sieve too, before, she didn't)
She was told the mystery of butter-making by a woman we used to get milk from.. before that, she didn't know how..

It's really simple & quick.. (Poppy may have fumbled with it more, but we had a smaller quantity too..) and also more cost-effective... (considering we get milk anyway.. and this is just a by-product!)

Mum also said if we want to make quark/cottage cheese, we can oder extra 2 liters of milk & just make it! :)
/The woman making quark didn't come to local monthly non-farmers-market this week! Sis said we can visit her though if needed, so quark sources covered! ;)/

(pic found here )
Mum &I talked of maybe using the soapwort instead of soapnuts as a more local alternative, for hair washing & washing the clothes.. (apparently the soapwort has 20% saponins in the root, soapnuts only 15%?)
Found some recipes for shampoo, haven't found any for washing clothes yet! Any recommendations?

/pics found here/
I also want to make a dish cloth & have looked at patterns online.. only found some brightly colored cotton in Mum's boxes.. not sure if it's okay for dish cloths.. would prefer organic/eco cotton..
Does anyone know if mercerized cotton is okay for dish cloths?

Am rather dreading zero waste week cause I feel totally underprepared, & still haven't planned the menus! /sigh/ And Dad will be sawing the wood much of the time, & I really hate too much noise!!
Sis said, 'Can we have it next year?' lol

Some Horror Gifts from Easter/b-day in advance include non-zero-waste chocolate, & sadly, I couldn't resist it! /sigh/ Hopefully it will get eaten before ZW week - or wait till the end? /Or..?!/ Can I cheat? ;)

Better news:
I called the local newspaper & they're interested in articles how to make less waste. (I said nothing about zero waste week cause I'm not sure we could pull it off! lol) They would be published end-of-May & then once a month, so I have time! :)

Got the 500 media contacts of Slovenian media too (YAY!!:)), & not sure what to do with them?!! (slightly overwhelmed, lol!!)

Not-so-good:
Tomorrow we can't go to the Farmers' Market as Mum has other things, Sis seems slightly ill, & Dad wants to be sawing wood! /sigh/ & I still haven't renewed my drivers' license! /sigh/

The computers I ranted about a few weeks before were discovered under the pine trees and on the grass (!!) at the local wastewater center! /sigh!!/
Definitely something must be done about this!

(Mom said to put them in newspaper too, but I'd prefer to talk to local officials first & try to deal with this quietly & diplomatically, if possible!! alas, I'm no diplomat! & when I think of the damn computers, some of them half broken on the grass, near a river (!) I get headache!! ugh!!)

Head of a local charity agrees a reuse station would be a good idea..
Now if only I could convince the officials etc? & get some money from EU?
(They give money for MUCH stupider projects!!)

National garbage policy is said to be updated in 2 months.. NGOs should definitely have a say, but will anyone bother to do anything?

I feel so... tired, & alone, & ... ugh, not sure exactly what to do & how to go about it..?!! I am just 'poor old me', not so healthy at the time either!! - how can I change any official politics?!!
/img found here/
at least I weeded out the strawberries today! :)
now if only weeding out silly official policies & practices would be as easy!!

Hmm, maybe this is normal before a zero waste week?!! Do tell!! :)

Hoppy Zero Waste Easter!! :)

2009-04-12T01:54:00.000-07:00

In Slovenia, every Easter Saturday (mostly) young girls and women take a food basket to church for blessings.

What's in the basket? Ham, potica or bread, a root or two of the horseradish plant, and easter eggs.

(This is not my basket! just a random pic found here - I still haven't got the digital camera!!)

Now you know my Mom: she is a great fan of the plastic bags.
So every Easter, the Easter basket was full of goodies in plastic bags!

But this Easter was zero waste Easter: how could we put plastic bags in the basket?!

So Great Consultant aka Granny came to help:
"What did you do in the old times?" I asked.
"Just stuffed it in the basket," she said.
"Put a cloth underneath, and a pretty cloth on top, and that's all!"

So we wrapped the potica in cloth wrappings, put the meat into a Curver/Tupperware-style reusable plastic container (Granny couldn't remember what - if anything - they used back then, maybe paper bags from groceries), and slipped in the horseradish roots and the colored eggs!

We had colored the eggs with onion peels, blackcurrants (from 2003) & raspberries (from 2005, both in reusable ex-icecream containers), but I have to admit the onion peels produced the best color! (& are mostly zero waste too!)
/Last year blackcurrant-colored-eggs were very beautiful too, maybe we did it a bit differently or the eggs were a bit different - & darker - this year!)
We just made them one-colored, as I wasn't happiest about cooking the eggs in nylon stockings! (and that method would produce waste too, no?!)

My Mom's heart was sinking, when she thought of colored easter eggs naked on the pretty cloth linen, but we tested them on an ordinary kitchen cloth & the color didn't come off, so they were safe to go!

Usually, she put some oil on the colored eggs to make 'em shine, but to avoid oil on cloth disaster, we just skipped that stage - & the onion-peel-colored eggs were very beautiful anyway!

(pic found here)

At church, I *did* wonder what in everybody's basket was!!

Grandma said that a joke at the time was that a woman carried a very heavy & rich-looking basket & then tripped, and old shoes came flying from the huge basket! (We did wonder if that was true too!! :))

Well, HAPPY ZERO WASTE EASTER!! :)

& may it be HOPPY too, to burn all those calories! ;)

The traditional Easter breakfast here involves ham, homebaked potica, bread, yummy horseradish-apple-egg sauce, easter eggs, and other optional items like cheese etc!

note to self: be in time to prevent paper napkins being added to the Easter breakfast! I never know what to do with those! not safe for recycling, not sure about burning them or putting on compost, they do look chlorine-bleached, hmm!
You should see the look on Mom's face when I suggested those were not zero waste, bless her! Ahh, maybe next year!

And some more ideas to decorate Easter eggs next year:

Drapanka from Poland made by scratching
(Picture, more info & ideas found here)

Of bees & farmer markets :)

2009-04-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am due more than a few blog posts! :)

After lots of ranting & frustration last week, things seemed better the next day already.

'Don't think I'll eat no _plastic sausages_ later on too,' Sis said, 'for the Zero Waste week' - (magical words!) 'so be it - but later on, no.' She paused. 'Unless you cook me supper every day.'

Hmm.. point taken!
My dear sister seems to lack supper initiatives & resorts to _plastic sausages_ - I've given the matter some thought, & realized we need more zero waste alternatives for supper (& I MAY even cook some suppers! oy!)

Then, Mum & I visited the FARMERS MARKET - finally!! Pure bliss!! Naked food everywhere!! :)

I felt so... happy!!

I had really started to feel guilty for eating anything non-zero-waste recently, so seeing huge tons of zero waste food (even goat dairy products - cheese & yogurt! & meat!!) I was really thrilled!!

The organic products aren't cheapest, but at least one CAN buy zero waste AND organic!! :)
/okay, goat milk & meats aren't organic, but at least they are naked!/

I also got the schedule for the organic health food store, & so on Tuesday a miracle happened:
I bought my first ZERO WASTE *AND* ORGANIC *AND* FAIR TRADE BANANAS!!! :))

I was soo happy!! :))

I also met an amazing shop assistant, & we chattered about zero waste alternatives & soapnuts (she suggested trying vinegar on the stains!) & other fun things!!
Best of all, she also shops with her own bags & had the low-down on some shops! (where you can buy the produce this way, & where you get kicked out! /sigh/)

So on Saturday I bought some yummy vegan sunflower mayonnaise and another spread (in glass jars!), zero waste pumpkinseeds (yeah!!) - a bunch in a paper bag & a 'starter set' for my own 'naked' pumpkinseeds from a tiny old lady who wrapped it into a piece of an old magazine! lol!!

I was asked if I am a journalist since I keenly scribbled all the zero-waste options (and prices!) into my trusty old notebook..!!
(How else am I to remember everything?)
So now I was even offered media contacts - WOW!! :)

I explained about the zero waste week & some people were interested - a guy selling organic stuff even asked what would be a better solution to cellophane, I said no idea since I'm still learning.. Hopefully something will be figured out..

In the meantime, it seems I'll have to make my own pasta!! (& am dreading it!!:)
Also, we still haven't sourced any naked butter, so we'll have to make that too! (but Dad keeps eating the cream!!)

When I look at the bin - it looks somewhat disheartening - there is still quite a lot of stuff in it, & some of it smells a bit! /sigh!/
It is pre-holiday & 'spring cleaning' time, so I'm hoping that's at least partly the reason!

When I look at the cabinets, raisins & some previously bought amaranth, millet puffs (& rice noodles - don't ask!) seem in iffy packaging, other stuff is mostly in paper..

Alas, Mom *did* buy store-bought yogurts again (at least some of them are organic so we can test them!:), & quark.. & heavily wrapped store-bought chicken! /sigh/
(She said, 'I forgot to bring the container for it, I had no intention to buy it!' - as if that is an excuse, hmm?! )
& butter & yeast-in-unrecyclable-wrappings.. (I didn't dare to buy yeast-in-a-jar in the health food store, it was in iffy-looking tiny balls-?! & well, we don't wanna risk the potica..)

She did get the cheese with the reusable container, and 2 naked avocados! And *she beamed proudly*: hankies in cardboard! lol!
/It was a huge thing for her, as she previously got 'em in plastics! often in small-10-hankies-a-piece-plastics within the outer plastics!/

(Apparently, compared to what the girl I met told me, my family still seems to have some potential! :) She's fished out recyclables out of the bin in front of the house!! & her brother was shocked: 'What will the neighbours say?' We both agreed they might even learn something!;)

On a happier note, a neighbour is willing to give me beeswax for my zero-waste-candle project, and mentor me about the bees!!
Uncle did give permission to renovate an old beehive & keep experimental trial of bees there!! :) YAY!! (Both he & Dad are scared of the bees, but Mom & Aunt & Cousin support me whole-heartedly, lol!)
(and to rummage the attic!! YAY!! apparently there's even some old linnen pre-yarn & a repairable spindle!)
We even found an old Grandpa's diary/notebook/notes about the production of the farm & the crops & payments & debts & such in the old beehive.. I was really touched..

Uncle said he was going to fully demolish the tiny hut one of these days - so I came just in the knick of time to save it! /not sure if it's worth saving, though Dad said it could last a year more, for my experimental bees!/

I talked to Aunt about maybe having a reuse station locally.. She thought she could mention it to the council..

Another Aunt offered some sources for more local meat directly from farmers... (not organic yet, so still looking a bit.. at least there are options..)

Also, a not-for-profit internet TV has approached me to do stuff for their studio?! /a bit bedazzled about this, & not sure how it could fit into my bee-keeping schedule etc?!!)

So many projects & only 1.. me!! :)

Alas, the way to my sister's and my dad's heart as well seems to be doing the dishes!! /sigh/
& yes I did wash the windows with water & vinegar today! :)

Mum still can't be fully trusted on the purchases (got some organic cookies in cellophane from the Farmers Market!) so I guess I'll have to do those for Zero Waste Week myself! (And we'll visit the Farmers Market again!)

Anyway, life seems pretty exciting, & even if I do not fully make it for the zero waste week, we've learnt a lot through this!
(We've avoided the farmers market before as it's 30+km away & at a most inconvenient time-Saturday morning, but it's worth it to go at least 1x a month!! and visit Granny at the same time..)

Also, why we are surrounded by tons of farms & still have to buy most things wrapped in plastics in shops, flown in from across the planet, totally evades me!!
(maybe stuff for future projects, lol!!)

And how was your week? :)

must dash to make some zero waste carrot-beetroots-apple juice! yum!

Zero Waste Report #4: What was I thinking??!! Going BANANAS! lol

2009-04-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I think there is 'no way' that we can pull off the 'real zero waste week' so I definitely won't be telling the media about this, lol!!

It will be just an experimental week 'just for us' & hopefully we'll come out wiser...

Dad & Sis just 'don't find any sense in it' - especially 'since other people are polluting so much. They both told me to tell other people to make less waste first.. ugh.. (which I intend to, but 'small steps'..)

At least I did TELL them both about the zero waste week - they didn't take it so well, lol. But then again Mum didn't take it so well at first either!!

Sis also bought some non-eco bananas AGAIN & really drove me BANANAS!!
(found here)

I was soo proud after we had an almost 14-days of (clean! not-smelling!) trash in the bin, & then first Mum had a baking day & some butter-remains landed in there, then Sis put in the banana peels, so the trash had to go outside...!!
I admit I lost some enthusiasm after that!!

Ideally we'd have 1x/a month bin (or less), but will we ever get there?

Some dry fruits in TINY packages and in cellophane were bought again, ugh!! :(
And some pumpkinseeds in non-recyclable plastics! ugh!! /they don't even taste that good!/
I really hate shopping (where others see YUMMINESS, I see TRASH!!) seems I won't be able to leave 'em alone to shop!! ugh

Grandma hasn't found zero waste butter yet, hopefully Mom & I are going to the organic farmers' market on Saturday! (I ate some coconut butter on bread instead - it tasted.. odd!!:) might be okay with a hazelnut spread or so..)

On a happier note (after I had ALMOST given up!), last Saturday Sis *did* ask if her tiny 100g coffee bags are recyclable & even googled up the recyclability(!) (alas, it's #7 plastics, so I was dubious) - of course she found nothing useful, so still someone would need to be called, most likely..
We talked and she said maybe she could buy in bulk (to make less waste)..

(found here)

I am still afraid to call any authorities or the companies dealing with this.. I did contact a local semi-journalist & talked about maybe-writing for a local newspaper, but haven't actually called them yet..

(found here)
I actually talked to my waste-ful neighbour the other day, & asked her 'How come they make so much waste?!' lol
She said, 'well, there's 4 of us' - and they're in the attic, with kitchen and living room all-in-one, so having a compost bin proved too smelly.. (They at least take out bigger piles of eg potato peels on Sunday to the compost heap)
And they do recycle tetrapaks, kiddies got containers at school..
We were distracted by kiddies running around half naked in the cold, so we couldn't fully discuss it all..

I at least asked her to call my Mom if she has any still-good toys or such, so she could give it to the charity NGO.. (Mom also picked some good-enough kiddie shoes out of their 'big garbage' pile..)

I've researched some GOOD stuff about no nappies, zero waste hair, & some other things.. Mum FINALLY tried the soap nuts - & they wash REALLY well!! YAY!! :)

(pic found here - ours look a tiny bit different, are in halves - was told they must be without seeds to wash well!)

Cheese is still being bought with a reusable container :) YAY!! we made some yoghurt again too! :) - & Sis BOUGHT some too! :( (In TETRAPAKS, of course!! ugh!)

...it still feels like 'too little'...

We got attacked by ANTS & I did find some great stuff online, befuddled them temporarily with cinnamon, & they returned.. :(
not sure what to finally use - as natural as possible!!
It seems best to find their entry ways & close them - but how? (there seem many, they seem to find new ones) & what with?

(pic unrelated & found here)
My cousin from the farm (yes, that one!) asked Mom to research a machine for throwing artificial fertilizer around.. and it's SUCH a shame, cause they live in such beautiful nature, & they could have an eco farm, & they're looking into fertilizer dispensers and buying milk in tetrapaks!! OoO (& disposable nappies!!)

I was ranting whole day today & Dad told me to rant at coz - I said it would be better if he did, a man with more authority, but Dad wanted none of it! although he keeps going there to help & COULD wield some influence!! Grr!!

Saw this great documentary A Farm For the Future (cca 50 min) & it did make me think - I wish I could show & present it to my coz & his wife too!

Also, the nuke firm is selling energy cheap to households, & all a TV show focused on was how advertised 10% reduced price isn't really 10% & consumers might be thus misled, & how they might have monopoly & iffy gov/non-gov position (with money landing who-knows-where).. not a word was said on how bad nuke power is!! grr!! - I want to kick someone's tushie!!

Still don't know what to eat - my tummy isn't happy.. :(
Been reading romance books out of desperation - at least they are zero waste - my neighbour's!! :D

On the other hand, as a winner of the FABULOUS Eurovision blog award

on Mrs A's The Rubbish Diet together with the awesome Danda from Italy & Esther from France (who I hope will post more!) - is it really time to despair? Or RE-THINK?! Hmm!!

So happy to be in the company of other totally wonderful bloggers (some of whom I definitely wanna research more!) - and hopefully I will be inspired by the Muse/s of blogging (or Muse/s of rubbish, if there exist any?) re: what to do?

Disposal of 'Big Garbage' and Electronics

2009-04-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

We had a 'big garbage disposal' week this week.
I had been in a frenzy ever since I read the leaflet that asked people to put out their old furniture etc AND old computers or TVs (!)...

As it is, computers & old TVs (full of toxic chemicals) etc were waiting for 2 days IN THE RAIN (!), mostly unprotected (some in plastic bags) - the leaflet just said 'protect appropriately' - now everyone could interpret that as wished!

(This is a random pic but looks similar to some of our neighbours' stuff!!)

The 'mixed garbage' truck came first & 'gobbled up' some chewable (&probably burnable) 'trash' (without sorting any plastics or such! - I only hoped there was no #3!), then a truck for electronics came & old fridges & such were hauled onto it.. not very gently, I may say..
So at least some of it was sorted, not sure where it went afterwards.. Ideally it would all be transparent and on websites of appropriate companies..

Still not happy with it..

Some really pretty stuff was put out there.. in the rain.. A bird cage, a CD stand, a very pretty cabinet.. Some kids jumped with their dirty muddy shoes on bed matresses and a suntanning folding chair.. & smashed some of the stuff, almost throwing something in a nearby lady's head!!
I did give 'em a good talking to, but still!! (One would hope their parents would teach them better, no?)
When we were little, we found treasures in the 'big garbage' containers.. (like the big bag we & later generations of neighbours' kiddies played Postman with!)
One neighbour had just dumped beautiful clothes (& another neighbour thankfully pulled them out & gave for the charity NGO!)

Ideally a reuse station would prevent such crazy goings-on!
Wouldn't it be better for all those pretty things to be safely deposited & sorted & if necessary repaired & people with lower income could get them for free or very cheap?
Like in the USA: a great video - in Berkley etc. you can buy gorgeous stuff for little or no money!!

Nova Scotia, Kanada: I LOVE the cute furniture/home renovation shop (shown at 19:10) in the video presented by Paul Connet about the recycling/zero waste system in Nova Scotia

Another cool video by Prof Paul Connet: in Burlington, a non-profit picks up old PCs, fixes them or puts parts to reuse or recycling and sells cheaply, families with low income get coupons to get stuff for free..
it's also a job-training center & creates new jobs..

Both neighbour & I would love an old computer mouse (for the very old PCs), such a reuse station might actually have a proper one!!

I talked to Mum about it, & she thinks a reuse station would be a great idea too..
Another idea I thought about a lot would be a used/pre-loved clothes fair or swap.
Mum talked to her charity NGO 'boss' & she seemed interested in a 'clothes swap' event or something like that too.. I wonder if it could be 'pulled off' in a fancy way..
I REALLY like Swishing or Swaporamarama - great video with its founder.
/Especially as I was invited to a wedding, & asked to be a bridesmaid!! in a turquoise blue pretty satin dress!! with golden (or non-golden) pretty shoelets! - How to do this the zero waste way??!!/

So, these ideas are still in the talking stage.. Ideally more people would know about them & become enthusiastic about them too..
I did talk to a few neighbours on toxicity of computers etc, they were touched a bit.. It would be good to have a better system next year ideally..

Baby-nappy-dilemma: which nappies?! - NO nappies!!

2009-03-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Very tired, but I also feel fab: I found a whole lotta forums & sites & posts about babies & their Moms/Dads going diaper-free!! (even on Slovenian forums YAY!!:)
First found on the fabulous Zero Waste NZ - & I LOVE this Mom's site too!!

As my cousin's wife has the baby-nappy dilemma (disposables at a farm-??!! far away from any landfill or regular garbage service!!) it seems VERY INTERESTING!!
Also, if I ever have a baby, I'd definitly TRY this!! (probably in combination with a few cloth nappies..)

It seems very odd that a single gal with no kiddies (or zero waste daddies) in sight would explore the nappies/no nappies world, but then again I already studied a book on getting kiddies to sleep & a few books on bringing kids up 'just in case'!! ;)
/Better be prepared, & it's easier to advise any friends in that case, no? ;)/

As for zero-wasteness... still being a chicken & haven't dared to make a few certain calls.. my stomach actually rebelled, I think the thought of what I might find out distressed me immensely :)
At least I'm learning about these things & raising awareness a bit.. my own, & of people around me.. I still feel so many lightyears 'behind'.. there is soo much knowledge scattered all over the world, & then found in most unlikely places :)

I did send Granny to chase after naked butter.. We'll see if she finds any!! :)

The Bathroom!! - & Some Evil Thoughts!! ;)

2009-03-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today I bravely ventured where no man has gone before: Our Bathroom.

ugh!

Honestly, I was mostly using my own bathroom, because of so many iffy chemicals & suspicious-looking little bottles present in the main bathroom!

I mean, we're just an average family. Perhaps slightly health-conscious in some regards (at least the kitchen).

But until a while ago, we were just very average with regard to bathroom chemicals.

I did start a REVOLUTION in my own bathroom (where I had the liberty to do so!) - but The Main Bathroom is a different affair!

I'm perplexed by all the different contents and containers.. Very few are clearly labelled on all parts, & while some have the recycling sign or at least 'the green dot' - many are not labelled enough!

The forage was useful: now at least Mum doesn't think any more that The Green Dot is a recycling sign!!

Often, The Green Dot is very lonely though!!

Maybe she just has one friend, the PAO symbol which indicates best to use 'period after opening' (with written number of months or years).

She would be much happier with more of her friends, like this:

It would be GREAT if especially the resin identification code were always present!!

If they can put it on Tic Tac boxes, surely they could put it everywhere!!

Just 'The Green Dot' means very little! Only that a tiny fee has been paid by the manufacturer for another organisation to collect it. It doesn't guarantee that it will get recycled!
How could it get recycled if they don't know what it is?

But, I fear that currently there is little real interest in recycling more!
The company that collects packaging in Slovenia for recycling has put this on its website: they are asking for a 'temporary' change in legislation to allow 'waste to energy' as a priority ahead of recycling!! Grr!!
Just because of current temporary low prices of recyclables...
/I do wonder what other packaging recovery organisations are saying..?/

& why are little kiddies in schools still given containers for tetrapak recycling? Greenwashing, I guess!!

Does recycling still make sense then?
Well, I think if they are asking for this change that must mean that currently they are still obligated to sort for recycling! So yes, it does make sense.
It's also a message that we, people, want to recycle and don't want to just trash things!

But MINIMIZING is more and more important..

I'm still half-exasperated and I didn't even make it through 1/4 of our bathroom!!

/I remember I was equally - or more! - exasperated in my own bathroom, a while ago.. & it's pretty low-waste now.. So hopefully the main bathroom will be doable too!!/

Mum is willing to try washing her hair with the soapnuts, we'll see how it goes..

I finally told Dad about the zero waste week for Earthday, and he's not happy. Not at all. (And this is an understatement!)
Well, nobody was when I told them! Mum's gotten used to it by now, hopefully Sis & Dad will too-?!

I am not really sure if a 'full' zero waste week will be doable for Earth Day, but at least I'll try... Difficult to do it all by oneself though.. If packaging recovery organisations are not helping!! :(

I barely managed to convince Sis of importance of recycling, & now this - of course next thing I know some clearly-labelled packaging was in the trash again.. aagh! /&I couldn't keep quiet about it, sorry!!/

I wanted to ring the packaging recovery company up & ask about what is and isn't recyclable, but with these news, I'm not sure if they would tell me the truth??!!

Still, I can at least try..

On a happier note, garbage was in the news: an article saying 'Waste is gonna be EXPENSIVE'! So Mom came rushing up: "You could write an article & tell 'em to all go zero waste! And how to do it."

Yeah right. Like I can tell my own family - if even my Dad & Sis won't really participate fully..?!! hmm..!!
They say, 'We're much better than most other families anyway'. And they are right. We are. (Still, Sis saying that is a bit funny, she's sort of the 'main polluter', at least in the kitchen.:) And she's not willing to give up her bagged toast or other stuff. Though she was slightly shocked when I told her how much of the stuff was actually okay and reusable/recyclable, in the ideal climate.)

We're still left with quite a bit of cellophane (non-recyclable) & some other things. I also probably can't make Sis go to cloth pads or diva cup in a month, so let's keep fingers crossed it won't happen at that time!!
(Or can I just not count bathroom/toilet?!)

I even had an evil thought to just hide all bins and they can keep their garbage in their room if they wish!! /Is it too evil?? Or not?? ;)/

And when I started writing an article, it got really looong. So I wasn't sure which to focus on: the 'How?' or the 'Why?' - cause for me 'Why?' is even more important. It makes you wanna discover & DO the 'How'!!
But would they even publish the whole truth?! Hm!!

In fact, I'm a little bit burnt out. I may take it easy for a day or two and start saving the world on Monday. (?)

Start saving onion peels!!:)

2009-03-18T07:09:00.001-07:00

If you haven't already!

Why, you say?

For zero waste Easter eggs, of course!! :)

as found on the lovely Cafe Chocolada blog!

When I was little, we bought colors in the store - not only do they come in probably-unrecyclable little satchets, I was also always wondering what exactly is in them!
As some of them are strong enough to go through the egg shell directly into the egg, there's more reason for concern!

Not anymore. For years, we've been painting eggs with onion peels, they give a lovely natural tone.. (not the white onions, orange/brown or red are okay!)
/Still not sure about how wise it is to cook nylon stockings, well, one-color eggs are very pretty too!!/

Last year I also ventured out & started experimenting with other colors!
Blackcurrants & vinegar give a very lovely violet-ish color!
(We have tons of blackcurrants in the garden, so I used some from the depths of the freezer! probably from 1999 or so!!:)
Raspberries give a nice reddish color, but eating raspberries (or making zero waste homemade ice-cream!) is yummier, in my opinion!
/Cooked & stabilized with vinegar, both give better color than uncooked! Yes, I did experiment!:)/

I may blog more about this when time comes near! :)

Zero Waste Report #3 - Mum almost fully on board!!:))

2009-03-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, what can I say?

I started a blog in Slovenian (it's feeling very lonely still, & there's still more work to be done on it, but YAY!! I started it! :))
I also announced a 'zero waste week' around Earth Day on a Slovenian forum - some people may still be scared of it a bit? Hopefully at least a few will be intrigued to minimize their waste too..? :)
/I'm scared of it too, lol!! - but at least it will hopefully motivate me to do even better, even if we don't get to 'zero'!!/

Mum is now almost fully on board, and this is a great thing!!
/She has read my blog in Slovenian too, maybe it helped a bit! I asked her for input etc. I also tell her about stuff I find online, like the Biutiful Cauntri yesterday, and the poor sheep & cats../

She has now lectured cousin's wife & her mother-in-law (my aunt) extensively how it's bad to burn plastics at their farm!! (That's another set of relatives from what I wrote about before!) About the toxic gasses etc!
Mum told them to set up a mini-recycling station & she'll take the plastics etc to our recycling bins when we visit! :) YAY!! :)

Cousin's wife would even be interested in cloth diapers, but her husband wasn't enthusiastic about them! So more research into cloth diapers needed, I'll authorize Mum to take a look at some of the stuff I already found! :) /It seems real funny to send your own Mum e-mails! lol/ In any case, they can at least reduce the plastic ones and have some cloth, some others.. or maybe organic ones..

It would be ideal to have places or stores where a new Mum could go and 'test' some of these diapers (all that are available here), to find which would be best for the kiddie.. (as babies can be different & not all diapers may be appropriate for all babies)

As for Sis, she still likes to drink capuccino (in a million satchets!), even though she has bought zero waste (lower percentage) coffee mixed with fake coffee in a reusable glass container (I was impressed!), and could theoretically drink that! But she'd have to add sugar & with the little satchets, she has the impression it's no-sugar aka healthier! /faints/ It's also 'so good'!
I asked her if she'd drink capuccino from a zero waste container if I bought it & she seems open to that provided it tastes good -? (Now here's research! Any ideas?)

She has also bought non-eco bananas again, still puzzled about the peels /again/ :(
/Sis says I 'overthink' & 'exaggerate/over-react' to this! I told her some of her 'exaggerations' aren't fun for me either - she's allergic to dust and some other things, and we can't have flowers or cats in the house!! so at least we're at stalemate here. Probably if we splash out for eco bananas she'll eat them too, she prefers to buy cheaper on her own. Am not happy with plastic packaging for 'eco' bananas, so..? hm, what to do?/

I must also praise Sis (if I didn't before): she now puts empty tetrapaks on the counter for me to wash!! YAY!! :)
If they are fresh, they can be rinsed with water easily! & usually at least a spoon or two of yoghurt are still in them! (for me to lick)
/This is such an improvement, she just tossed them before..)

The yoghurt production has been started again, but Sis prefers to mix bought+homemade (don't ask!)

Dad has been away at relatives a lot, so didn't add much to the bin. Didn't eat much yoghurt either, so we may have too much of some!:)

Last week the bin did smell a bit, was still unsure what caused it to!
I talked to Mum about the importance of non-smelly bin, we'll see if it sticks? (Not sure if I talked to Sis about it, or if I dare to?;)

She's the one who has bought icky 'plastic' salamis and such before - they're both unhealthy and make bad waste.. (I'm really too disgusted to wash those!)
Hopefully 'real meat' can be substituted for that? (we still have some pretty much zero waste dried meats from Uncle.. not so totally healthy, but yummy!! I see she hasn't bought the iffy ones now..;) So probably the goal would be to always have some zero waste meat for snacks & suppers in the house..?)

Mum said we don't have so much waste & if it was all rolled up together it would be very little of it too - so the thing to work on would be the smell/food leftovers..
I told her at Clean Bin they wash the 'garbage' so it's clean and doesn't smell..
We developed a routine of washing up the dishes together after lunch - much quicker than just one person doing it, & it gives me a chance to ~~brainwash~~ inspire her with the zero waste superheroes & their daily adventures! :)

So, the key to a woman's heart may be through doing housework together.. (or whatever is very important to them..!) Also, she loves pictures & videos of kiddies! (like Little Miss Green!)
Some healthy competition with 'what other bloggers are doing' is quite helpful too! ;)

I'm also much happier to help now that Mum is on board with zero waste, so it's a double-win I guess?! :)

We still don't know many things..

How do you freeze rabbits zero waste? especially whole ones, to make 'em stuffed? (45 x 13 x 13cm or so) - I measured them & we'll look for any appropriate containers, if we find them.. for other parts they must be only 3 - 4cm high, and 10 x 19/20cm or 26 x 19cm or so otherwise.. Plastic bags used so far still.. :(

And what do you give to people as small thankyou gifts?
I used to give chocolate or such, do more zero waste little gifts exist?

& Mum's charity group will be giving gifts for the elderly again, for Easter - usually this meant (donated/sponsored) cookies or yuk! candies or coffee in (I think unrecyclable) plastic boxes/bags & such, also in plastic bags or unrecyclable gift paper bags (with a plastic layer).. both unhealthy AND not zero waste..
Have no idea what they could give that would be healthier, happily accepted by elderly people, AND zero waste?

Maybe to figure out until Christmas or next year, hopefully..?
(One year they gave oranges and they got bad before all of the gifts could be transported, stuff needs to be 'stable', so fresh fruit is out..)
So, more things to figure out & research..

Been also busy trying to organize myself, but that is stuff for a whole another blog post, I guess!! :) /phew/

Thank you for reading so far, if you managed to!! :) Any ideas or comments will be appreciated!! :)

Biutiful Cauntri - more reasons to go ZERO WASTE!!

2009-03-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to see Biutiful Cauntri on YouTube!! :) (in 8 parts, trailer here)

(1st part with intro here - 1st part may be a bit boring, but it gets really more 'action'-oriented later on.. & even if you don't understand much Italian, you can see a lot!)

I cried.

The sheep, the cats... 2.000 sheep & more died because of... human stupidity?!!

I am not sure if I properly understood everything (my Italian is beginner level!!:)
Was it the illegal dumpings that got burnt & produced the terrible amounts of dioxin etc, or also the bad incinerators & the polyester textile industry? Probably all together! (?)

When the film dragged on and on, I didn't want to watch anymore.. It was so horrible!!

But I had to.

You see, I had to see if the film also gives a glimmer of hope. Does it tell people to STOP MAKING SO MUCH GARBAGE?!!

Not directly.

But I really REALLY hope that everyone who sees it starts going more and more zero waste & MINIMIZING WASTE!!

Please, let us stop making so much waste in the 1st place!! Because we can. And it is only us who can. The companies and big sellers won't stop making so much garbage, unless we tell 'em to!! And politicians may be lazy and not wanna recycle too (some of them) - they are only human, as we are. And if we do nothing, who will?