I Don't Buy It!

Can't buy me love!

2008-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Many moons in absentia… Where to start…
The process of ecological and economic constraint persists, and has become the cornerstone of how I see the world and its human consumption. I have moments of optimism and deflation, evangelism and private head shakes.

The rules that I set out initially have gotten more flexible in someways. I have reverted to buying wine, and the odd soda, but have been trying to keep it local, independent, organic, fair trade or combinations of all for.

I have bought pants from MEC for summer trekking… Not fancy-pants pants, but well made organic cotton cooperative pants. So far they are the only item of new clothing of any kind that has entered my wardrobe except a locally designed shirt while in Hawaii, and folk festival purchases of a hand made hat in Winnipeg and a beautiful apron here in Regina. I have refashioned, reclaimed and built from scratch many new pieces for my oh so high fashion wardrobe. ;)

I have been eating out again on occasion or going out for a beverage once in a while, but this practice has become rare enough that it has resumed its status once again as a treat. So much better to savour!

I have made a pretty big investment this summer in my yard. I have built a patio set from reclaimed wood and lumber: table and benches. it turned out great. All materials found in the alley, scavenged from the fence I took down. The top of the dining table is old hard wood from the neighbour. The legs are from Re-store (my favourite shopping destination!) I have put in another patio area under the maple tree to cosily create a dining area that is surrounded by LED lights and virgina creeper. It feels like a fairy tail. Last night we enjoyed locally brewed beer, phad thai, and fresh rolls listening to my back yard crickets. Don’t think there was a better place to be on this planet during those minutes.

I have build a new garden area at the back of the yard where the sun is sunnier and I am trying square foot gardening this year with great success. Instead of rows you plant in slightly raised beds in a grid. A lot more food fits in a small space and since you can remediate the soil in those top inches everything is producing really well. I have 4 kinds of Kale, kohlrabi, chard, cukes, zucchini, salad greens, carrots, beets, beans, pumpkins (one of which has climbed the lilac and will soon be a beautiful orange orbe up high in the tree), and about 20 or more tomato plants of different varieties in containers that are just starting the share sweet and tangy fruits with us, and will soon have us scurrying around trying to get everything blanched and frozen for winter. The plants are absolutely HEAVY with the coming harvest. It really is beautiful! Another one of my back yard pride and joys this summer has been my eggplants… oh my eggplants! Dark dark purple. Sweet and tender. Shiny and SOooo perfect to hold. I am indeed in love.

As a treat for both the eyes and the bees, my front yard is quite full of flowers this year. Asters, snap dragons, Dahlias, marigolds (great in salads!), Astilbes, Munk’s hood, Ferns, and HOSTAs, HOSTAs, HOSTAs! It is a very pleasing mix of greens and reds and pinks and purple. Drips of yellow bring out the house’s sunny disposition.

The summer has not been a very hot one so far, so things are a bit behind, but catching up. The rains have been pretty good to us, and everything is beautifully green. The vegetable and flower gardens have been enjoying the latest attempt at water conservation, “the home grey water system”. I have been siphoning water from my tub on the second floor, out the window, and down into the rain barrel. So far all except a single watering can worth of water has been either from the sky or from the tub. Kitchen dish water has been feeding the more hardy trees, and greenery. I really can’t imagine how much water I would have used to keep things green without this adaptation. I am also adding more rain barrels this fall so that next year will see my plants even more happily irrigated.

I feel like my path has become a much more sustainable one… I know that I vote everyday with the dollars I do and don't spend. I feel like my life and my values are more in alignment than they have ever been. I know that this autumn of the buy nothing year is really just a starting point and that really not much will change as of October… This summer has been amazing in so many ways with so many gifts. Having people in my life who can see this journey I am on as just that, and not an extreme abdication of my consumptive responsibilities. To feel supported and encouraged in this way, I am certain I owe a great debt to the universe for these things in my life.

I really don’t think I have ever felt so “in the right place” in my entire life… proof that you can’t buy happiness I would say!

Babies are FREE!

2008-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

My sister and her partner are the happy and healthy parents of a beautiful baby boy! He looks like both of them.
I was lucky enough to meet him along with the rest of my family a few hours after he was born into his daddy's hands under the caring eyes of the midwives in Stony Plain!

It is very hard to believe that that I am an aunt let alone that my sister is a Mom(!) or that my mom and dad are Glam' Parents!

He is indeed priceless!

Back from the brake/brink

2008-01-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

I am behind in sharing the ups and downs of retail abstinance, for those of you who have been awaiting my next posting with braided(ha!) breath here is a short resumé, pictures to follow later this week.

Successes:
1.I bought no gifts per sae. I did buy wool,or acrylic to be specific (for my Spendidly-Vegan sister), and thread for a skirt (For my Spendidly-Quirky Mom).
2. Many of the supplies i used were either used or recycled. I found fabric for my mom's skirt at my favourite boutique: Value Village. I recieved amy guys for a melted bowl (for my Spendidly-Pregant sister) from Full Circle and people I work with.
3. had a photo printed (for my Spendidly-Genuine Dad). Frame was preloved, and I think this should count as "from Scratch" as i took the picture.
4. hosted a new years Stay in of fondue, sauna and friends. made an amazing cheese & champagne fondue, which we ate with bread from the bakery down the street. Tried to by fruit and veg from tiny groceries, turns out they close early newyears eve. settled for big store organics.

Possible Dalliances... Hey i Never said I was perfect!
1. Went out for dinner with my parents in Edmonton at my suggestion. did eat at a non chain. And it did reduce driving significantly, by staying down town before i went to a play, and it was en route from the airport, and close to where my mom works... yah. a cheat. DAMN FINE spring roll and kim chee!

2. Bought Baby duck for New years, and a box of red wine.

3. went out for drinks with friends on birthday. I don;t think tis is really cheating... the event has been partially extended to this friday as some peeps were out of town last weekend.

Presently trying to settle what IT is...

2007-12-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I try to live in the present, and though I do at times brood over the past, I think I spend rather too much time living in the future. Waiting for the right thing. Assuming the present is a temporary state and merely a matter of transition:

I am where I am, but I won’t be here long. Don’t get too attached:
My next job will be the right one.My next relationship will be the right one.I love where I live but surely it is temporary!Oh when the house and land are paid off then I can…
The ultimate manifestation of a pathological procrastinator! I don’t dislike my present. I am not someone who can’t wait for the present to be over, I guess I just don’t take it terribly seriously. I can’t seem to stop deferring to the future. I am like an ant, never-endingly preparing for the winter. Though also never really committing to where I am. Always gleaning optimism from the future. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to stop looking forward. I just wish that I would be willing to believe that the present may be as good as it gets… THIS could be IT! (insert any given thought in place of THIS)

As I read this it seems like I am asking myself to settle. I have always HATED the word, and idea of settling. “Settling down.” Retch! I always have seen this as weakness. “Don’t settle for less!”But settling is complicated. and I seem to have grouped all meanings.

set·tle verb, -tled, -tling.
–verb (used with object)
1. to appoint, fix, or resolve definitely and conclusively; agree upon (as time, price, or conditions).
2. to place in a desired state or in order: to settle one's affairs.
3. to pay, as a bill.
4. to close (an account) by payment.
5. to migrate to and organize (an area, territory, etc.); colonize: The pilgrims settled Plymouth.
6. to cause to take up residence: They settled immigrants in urban areas.
7. to furnish (a place) with inhabitants or settlers: The French settled this colony with army veterans.
8. to quiet, calm, or bring to rest (the nerves, stomach, etc.).
9. to stop from annoying or opposing: A sharp word will settle that youngster.
10. to conclude or resolve: to settle a dispute.
11. to make stable; place in a permanent position or on a permanent basis.
12. to cause (a liquid) to become clear by depositing dregs.
13. to cause (dregs, sediment, etc.) to sink or be deposited.
14. to cause to sink down gradually; make firm or compact.
15. to dispose of finally; close up: to settle an estate.
16. Law. a. to secure (property, title, etc.) on or to a person by formal or legal process.
b. to terminate (legal proceedings) by mutual consent of the parties.
–verb (used without object)
17. to decide, arrange, or agree (often fol. by on or upon): to settle on a plan of action.
18. to arrange matters in dispute; come to an agreement: to settle with a person.
19. to pay a bill; make a financial arrangement (often fol. by up).
20. to take up residence in a new country or place: Many Frenchmen settled along the Mississippi River following La Salle's explorations.
21. to come to rest, as from flight: A bird settled on a bough.
22. to gather, collect, or become fixed in a particular place, direction, etc.: A cold settled in my head.
23. to become calm or composed (often fol. by down): I'll wait until the class settles before starting the lesson.
24. to come to rest (often fol. by down): We settled down for the night at an old country inn.
25. to sink down gradually; subside.
26. to become clear by the sinking of suspended particles, as a liquid.
27. to sink to the bottom, as sediment.
28. to become firm or compact, as the ground.
29. (of a female animal) to become pregnant; conceive.
—Verb phrases
30. settle down, a. to become established in some routine, esp. upon marrying, after a period of independence or indecision.
b. to become calm or quiet.
c. to apply oneself to serious work: There were so many distractions that we weren't able to settle down to studying.
31. settle for, to be satisfied with: to settle for less.
32. settle into, to become established in: to settle into a new routine.

Really only 11, 30, & 31 bother me…

A friend of mine whom I see as being "Very non-settled" and who works all over the world, pointed out to me that it is simply the simplest way to do some things. And coming from someone that i don't see as “NEEDING” stability, it made it seem less saprophytic. For example raising children is hard, but not impossible from a backpack. It just depends on how you want to spend your energy. Staying in one place is not a failure. Compared to him I am soooo settled, but the fact that he had less of an issue with the idea of settling than I did surprised me. Kind of made me take a step back and reconsider my demonization “settle”. I guess when you are all over the place it makes you see the plus side of stability.

I need to stop thinking about building my life like a resumé to be presented in future settings, and more like building a home to live inside of… “a permanent mailing address".

...and if need be I can send out change of address cards.

wasted dates and car insurance.

2007-11-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

hmmm. well here are the challenges of late:
1. restaurants. I have given myself permission to eat out/coffee out in a dating context. this is all fine and dandy. now i have found myself out for a drink and eats on 3 other occasions(excluding funerary activities surrounding grandma's passing, which i consider exempt) on 2 occasions out of town work people have been in Regina for meetings and I have been social and attended. this has been cordial, and I am sure good PR for future work in HIV/HCV stuff that i do, and also generally socialisation with Regina friends that i have met through work. but I am wondering if I should be taking a different approach. I will not suggest that should not have spent evenings with these folks. I think it is important to be a host in your city. but should i have pushed for them to come and eat at my place and shared a drink here? should i have eaten a cheese sandwich at home and socialised over as glass of water? In both instances i have insisted upon eating in a locally owned and non-chain restaurant. I have walked or car pooled to the location. But i can't help but feel like I am slipping.
The other restaurant event was out with my friends Amy & Mike, but they have been trying to take me out for sushi since the summer, and we have just not gotten around to it. so should i have deferred until next year? should i continued to insist upon eating at home, and that they didn't owe me dinner at all? I guess the problem is that i LIKE to eat out. I miss it. I miss not doing dishes. I miss the diversity without having to cook too much food. miss the feeling of being out. but this is not a need! this is not even close to a need.

a 4th event that is annoying me is that a friend set me up on a blind date 2 weeks ago, and i used my dating rule to meet this guy. His kids are 19. he has lived in the same place his whole life, and I have NO idea why my friend thought there would be chemistry. When he dropped me off at my house after lunch at a "family restaurant", he asked "Do you have problems with Natives around here?" I believe this question describes our compatibility. I answered "No, just systemic racism." I think this was lost on him. the sad thing is that it was a total waste of a "going out" opportunity. blah! No more blind dates for a while.

This weekend i temporarily re-insured my car. I was going to rent one to go and spend the weekend with my dad at the cabin, after all it cost the same for a month of insurance, as a weekend rental. but then 2 things came to the fore front.
1. I could get a refund for the rest of the month so it would be cheaper to use my car.
2. Most of the reason i wanted to rent was shiny factor. sure winter tires were in my head a bit, but it was more fascination with driving a Suzuki swift for the weekend. and that is not the point of this exercises.

So Kia And I drove up to the Cabin, spent a quiet weekend with my Dad, and Ben the dog, watched the gray cup, cooked in the fireplace, and walked in the woods. I will take my recycling to the Depot this week, and next weekend I will go and see my other grandmother, who is almost 90 and lives out of town, and then I will nix the insurance again.

Oh, and for any friend of mine who wishes to set me up on a date: please don't.

Going strong.

2007-11-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

It feels weird to shift to talking about retail abstinence after the weighty topics of late.

The retail hiatus is still going strong. I did some sewing this weekend, and have been feeling really good about the process. I am going to have to make a trip to value village for new jeans soon, as mine are more patch than structure now and soon they may be declared a hazard. Sewing jeans not a fun game, so I will buy a pair second hand. I am also hoping to renovate a wool winter coat soon. Start out with a huge brightly coloured monstrosity, and end with my own monstrous creation.
This weekend i finished a few Crochet and sewing projects.
This weekend I attended a regina Ecoliving potluck, walked around the lake, and slept in. It was awesome. I organised an office potluck in place of our usual restaurant excursion and it was well received by all... amazing food!
The concert i was planning on attending last week was cancelled, so i now need to find a replacement Nov social event... Might go to BC at the end of the month for a Mike Doughty concert, but i have not heard back from the venue if there are tickets left.
It is getting very dark again... I feel like there is a layer of wax and wool on my brain these days. need more sun!
okay. sleep is free. I am going to go get me some!
E

2007-11-08T21:03:00.001-08:00

Well it has been one week since my grandmother passed away. It is crazy how the world fills in around the people when they go. I have a sense of procrastination about not going to visit her. It is hard to believe after so many years of various struggles that it can end. It seemed that that state was perpetual.

My mom and I stayed with her on the night before she died until about 2 in the morning. I think we both planned on staying all night but as the night passed, she was stable and resting relatively comfortably so we decided to go home and sleep for a few hours, recharging our batteries for the next day that we anticipated. It is funny, because I remember the trip back to my house is a weird sleepy stupor. I remember parts of the trip like I was driving even though we were in a cab, but also remember that the cab driver was a very abrupt and crazy driver. Both mom and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow, despite expecting exhausted layers of insomnia. At 4:48, Ken, my grandmother’s nurse called. She had just passed away. I called another cab, this one less rabid, and got dressed. We were there within 15 minutes.

I had never seen a dead person before. Or touched one.

The last time I saw her alive, her laboured breathing was shallow, and she was not able to respond to anything in the room. The silence in her room at 5 am was very strange. The room’s light flickered with light from her neighbours muted TV tuned to the home shopping network. She was still comfortably tucked into her bed, eye’s closed. Her hands and face were still very warm. Her colour had not changed much, which surprised me. It was definitely different than sleeping. I think it was the stillness. She was beautiful and scary at the same time.

I really value that last hour or so that we were able to spend with her, after she had gone. It was still early, so there were not many staff or people in the halls, giving us privacy and a lending a sense of the sacred to this time spent in a public place.

I am also very thankful for the time grandma and I spent together on the last day of her life. I talked to her about the great memories that I would keep close to my heart, share with my friends, and hopefully share with my children. I asked her for a few favours for myself and friends. A bit odd, and I felt weird asking, but I felt like she was close to having better insight than I have into “the big picture” so who better to ask? And weirdly, parts of my life related to my inquiry have started to change, not significantly, but more change than I have seen in a while. I have a good friend that I asked her to check on too, and there have been a few stirrings in that direction as well, though resolution on all fronts is still beyond the horizon.
I left my grandmother for a few hours on Halloween, to hand out candy, and have some supper. A good friend supplied the ride and the dinner as well as some good rejuvenating conversation. But before I left she kissed me good-bye. I had to ask her a few times, but she puckered her lips and pressed them to my cheek, wish I had placed close-by. When I returned later than evening she was no longer responsive. I wondered if I should have stayed, but that good-bye, potentially not possible an hour later, was such a gift that I know it happened for a reason.

After the funeral home came, and Mom and I made up her bed and tidied her room. Then we went and enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the Hotel Regina, I had Tea and hot chocolate. It was weird to be in public. It was weird to feel okay, sad but okay. I felt like it should have been obvious that we had just been sitting with the dead, that somehow the world should smell different, feel different.

But it was the same.

new mike doughty song to sing

2007-11-04T23:45:00.000-08:00

New doughty music... not sure how i am feeling about the new 27 jens song... but new is good. respect the art. right?

JUST WANT THE GIRL IN THE BLUE DRESS TO KEEP ON DANCING

Frat boys gone to dogs
Brawling and sparring
Blue girl, dance for me
The empty floor,
and I said: brrmbpdpdmdm
I love your baby fat: brrmpddmdum
Your crooked nose is where it's at: brrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdm
I assess the essence of the mess
The perfect hourglass of my loneliness,
yes,And I don't care to count my chances
I just want the girl in the blue dress
To keep on dancing
What is this happiness? brrmbpdpdmdm
It was not ever thus: brrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdm
I will prevail for you: brrmbpdpdmdm
Behind the mic I'm burning to: brrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdmbrrmbpdpdmdm
Yeah, I'm just a zip code man
I got my house and I'll stay in if I can, but I
Don't care to keep my fences
I just want the girl in the blue dress to keep on dancingNa na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Googled

2007-10-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

It seems that if you google the term "I don't Buy it" I am the 5th hit.
That is pretty interesting.

not sure how the ending should go.

2007-10-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

My grandmother is dying right now. maybe tonight. maybe tomorrow. She has been sick for a very long time with a list of things that are not killing her alone. Her pain has gotten to the phase that managing it is finishing the job that auto-immune disease, a heart condition, osteoporosis, diabetes, long term prednisone, urinary tract infections and depression have been too weak to finish.
I think that by managing her pain this way we are giving her the comfort and dignity that she deserves. I wonder where death starts and where a morphine stupor begins. Is she already mostly gone, and just pops back into this world from the next when we rouse her to offer greetings, a sip of water or to signify our departure for the evening. What will change for her when this is finished? is it a snap from one place to another or even oblivion? is it a fading from one scene to another?

My relationship with her has had many ups and downs. As a young child we were not close, but she was my favourite grandma because she did not bug me as much as my other fussy grandma did. She and my grandfather made me my doll house and she sewed neat Barbie clothes. She grew raspberries in the back yard and canned plums.

As a teen i stayed with her for weeks in the summer, on year with strep throat on her couch. We picked saskatoons, and strawberries. She took pictures of me dressed up in her old wigs and my grandpa's clothes pretending to be a detective. She used to wear wigs in her younger years. The basement always had the same smell. As kids my sisters and cousins and I would spend hours in slippers she made, drawing on the blackboard in the basement, climbing on the freezer to bug Tom the cat.

She has a hammer toe and is very embarrassed of her perceived bow legs and feet. She made chicken and broccoli casserole when we came to visit, and made very good muffins. blueberry or mincemeat.

When i got divorced i wrote to all my family telling them, and she wrote me a wonderful letter back that i still have, a letter that calmed my fears of being a grave disappointment.

When i moved to Saskatoon for school I would drive up to Prince Albert where she and my other grandparents lived for the weekend. She taught me to can beets and make jam. We would eat veggie burgers and i would help with whatever chores she had for me. up and down the stairs from the kitchen to the deep freeze. We would watch PBS nature documentaries.

We also had conflict. Mostly over the way she treated my mom. we have had our fights. some active and some simply periods of silence. but somehow, we remain close. I really will miss her despite this shitty interludes.

I think that part of the Cosmic Reason for me Moving here to Saskatchewan had to do with my grandparents. I am not here for work or school. Being near to them has done more to change who i am and the relationship I have with them, than any of the academic endeavours here.

In Saskatoon i had the chance to spend almost 3 weeks with myother grandmother, my Dad's mom, in the hospital when she had heart problems. telling stories, just getting to know each other.
funny, at both intervals or sick grandmothers there have been some conflicts with the roll i am playing as a grand-daughter.

I think that I want to have children not just because i want to have them for them and the people they will be, but because of the potential to also meet the people the will raise as my grandchildren. the extra gap in generations just seems to work . My grandparents have been more important to me recently than they were when i was a kid. then they were a source of gifts or interference. a source of praise or conflict. Now they are pieces of me. positive and negative.

From her i think i have a desire to grow food and flowers. I like to make pickles and jams. She credits herself for my non-fear of bugs and things-that-crawl from my time in her garden and the things that i would encounter in the raspberry patch and rows of beans. I do remember running screaming from the berries after tossing the harvest into the air after a daddy long legs found his way into the bucket. But i went back in.she explained he had every right to be there, and the good wirk he did.

I do not have her sense of house-keeping, or of the need to iron sheets. i do not iron sheets. and if i had a dish washer i would put the ALL the dishes in it. not wash some separately.

Right now i feel like i have rushed too much through life. like i am missing the point of things. I feel like I want to slow it all down.

I realise that my sister's child will be me. in the sense of being the eldest grandchild. they will remember my parents as younger grandparents than my children will ever be able to.

Tarantulove

2007-10-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend i went with Amy to the Exoctic Animal and Bird Auction...

There were ducks and geese and fowl of every colour and flavour. Many Fancy Chickens.
Many ornery rural folk, who steel seets, and generally act like jerks. Karma on them!

Amy Fell in love with a pair of Blue-eyed white geese that she would like to have living in her back yard. I convinced her to find out who brought them, and make sure that she was ready to recieve them before welcoming a pair home. I know she wishes she had brought them home with her. and they were very cute and seemed to like having their heads scritched.

There were many types of bunnies, chinchilas, and other soft pets like munchkin cats( they have short legs like a wiener dog)

There were tropical fish and budgies, and cockateals. There were hamsters, and rats and a hedgehog.

I wish that I could have bottled the feeling in the air in that place. Not because it was pleasant, but because it was CRAZY! The auctioneer rattles on like any auctioneer would, except that he is looking for bidders on a rare kind of lop-eared rabbit and not on a holstien heffer or a sweet Datsun. :)

And they had tarantulas. 2 of them. Striped kneed tarantulas.

One of the species that i handled when i volunteered at the BUG-ROOM in Edmonton.

and as I sat there the bidding started at $50...

No Takers.

...and ended up and $10 and still no-one was bidding... I guess farmers don't want spiders.

and so i bid... ended up with both for 15$.

so now i have 2 spiders.

And i know i have a few friends who will not want to visit me now... I am sorry! But they had no home! No Tarantulove at all! Because i love you phobes i have posted no pictures, and Amy said she would take them if people were scared to visit...

I have given them names based on their female gender and their stripy legs...

The big one is Raggedy Anne and the smaller one is Pippy Long-Stockings, Pippy for short...

I played them Tarantulove, by Mister Workman so they would feel at home, but think they are more into hip hop cause they didn't dance at all....

And after looking up their care on the internet it seems that i will have to turn up the heat in my house, as 16C is not warm enough for them... My sister will shake her head that i froze her all winter and a spider makes me turn up the heat. Funny.

Brand Free Kids

2007-10-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Rich for sending this to me, I was talking to my friend Amy this weekend about the fear of raising Brand/Consumption Obsessed Future/Imaginary children... very a propos.

Raising a Brand-Free Kid

Kyla Epstein and son Max Suy-Epstein. Photo C. Kimmett
From day one, you've got to fight Winnie the Pooh.
By Colleen KimmettPublished: October 30, 2007
TheTyee.ca

Parents, be warned: It takes only a single visit to McDonald's for your child to get hooked on the greasy stuff for life.
Okay, so that's an exaggeration. But the three-year-old son of Angela Verbrugge still remembers his one and only meal under the golden arches. Which has Verbrugge worried.
And Kyla Epstein swears if her young son Max ever wants to eat there, he'll be doing it on his own dime.
These parents aren't raging against the health detriments of fast food. Instead, they are making a conscious effort to limit the amount of branding and advertising their kids are exposed to in all aspects of their lives; what they eat, wear, watch and play with.
It's not easy. Brands are everywhere -- literally.
Disney 24/7
Genevieve McMahon says she experienced an "eye-opening" moment the first time she bought disposable diapers for her newborn daughter Imogen, who was then too small for the cloth variety her parents preferred.
"We were unpacking them to put them in her drawer and realized there were Walt Disney Winnie the Pooh characters all over them," she says.
"It was at that point when we were like, oh wow ... it's everywhere. I mean, she's not even conscious and yet here they are advertising. I'm staring at it everyday. And eventually...she's going to recognize them."

Keep reading here

PS. after i had copied and pasted this from the web page i realised that it had insterted the word "ADVERTISEMENT" into the text at various intervals. Rather ironic don't you think?

Compromise VS Compromising My Values

2007-10-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my Aunt and Uncle and Mom were in town to see my grandmother who is palliatively ill.

My mom came into town Saturday, and they were just in for the afternoon from the farm (yes, this is Saskatchewan) They wanted to go out as a family for dinner after a day at grandma's bedside.

At first I told my mom that i would just eat first and join them for conversation and not food, but i guess that suggestion was not well recieved.

They offered to pay, and i explained that it wasn't just about money, and offered to make pizza and that they could come here to my place to eat. I would even "let them" bring a bottle of wine!

But they siad that was too much work for me ( I would not have offered if that was the case!) so we "compromised".

We changed venue from Tony Roma's (which i don;t really like even when buying EVERYTHING) to a locally owned place. I drank water and had a bowl of in house made tomato & cilantro soup. I was quite satisfied, we enjoyed our time together and I even had a chance to explain the crazy actions of their urban neice. (me)

I guess i had to realise that the reason i was doing it was not to avoid socialization, especially at at a time when famioly needs to be together, and that the value of my family was more important than that of my no-restaurant-food values.

And I will admit the soup was great, it was good to laugh instead of worry, and it was also great not to have to clean up afterwards!

Why is there Air? A night with Bill Cosby!

2007-10-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

So for my October Cultrual Event i bought a ticket for Bill Cosby at the casina. Bought it this afternoon after work, they released a few more tickets today. I had been disappointed that it was sold out when i 1st got back from london. but thought it was worth a try to try teh same day. I got two great tickets for my friend Alexia and I. Quite close to the front at a table.

Throughout the show i had to keep reminding myself that i was actually in the room with him.

I guess i should explain why Bill Cosby is such a big deal to me. since i was a kid we had bill cosby comedy records. I had thema l memorized. I would put the records on and laugh and laugh,,, " the aliens came down out of the sky and gave me a chicket" was a favourite. I am sure many of my friends also are familiar with these skits as i often imposed this good time on them. My parents had 3 or4 of his records, and then as a teen i discovered the beauty of used records stores and became a real collector. I probably have at least 10 of his records. They all make me laugh out loud. They have always cheered me up when i was blue.

When My X and I split up, and I dropped him off at the airport. I was the instigator and the break up was the right thing for the both of us, but still after spending 6 years together you can't help but be sad... But on the way home I listened to Bill all the way.It was a great sound track for my maiden voyage driving standard, and being single. I laughed and felt better.

I think of the few celebrities that i would like to meet and I think the Cos and Mr Dress Up are the 2 that have been with me long enough that they are part of who i am.

My many friends that are often sighing about my odd sense of humour probably can blame part of it on Bill.

shall i recap?( sorry of this means nothing but if it means nothing go catch up on your cosby comedy)

"Did you kill a roach today?" " Yah I killed a roach today" and there we were. Walking to the dump.

"The glazed donut moster"

" My uncle walter, died of a haht attack." "What? Some hats jumped on him and attacked him?" " no his haht. his hat attacked him" (haht=heart with 'merican accent)

"My friend lent me a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon. a volkswagon..."( here's where our record skipped)

So after many great skits this evening on subjects ranging from the roughriders. to husbands and wives, to our small town of Regina, he makes a remark that makes someone near the front with a remarkable laugh, laugh.

Bill (yah we're on a 1st name basis) says he has to meet this laugh, and then invites her family up to get their picture taken. but they don't have a camera. so he askes who in the audience has a camera.

silence.

So I yell out that i have one, and he says to come on up and take the picture.

so i ran up a few rows and took their picture. Afterwards, one of them gave me their card so that i could email it, and i think, oh too bad no pic for me...

but then he invites me to come and have my picture taken!!!

I GAVE HIM THE BIGGEST HUG!!

I asked him to say "chicklet".. and HE DID.... all of this in the middle of the show!

He thought i wanted him to do the chicket routine, and said "not tonight" which everyone heard and laughed about, but i said nope just the word!... ( my GAWD i am such a nerd) so he said chicklet.

and then off to my seat i went, a twitter like i have not been in ages...

and THEN he did the Dentist routine from the same era of records! About dentists and the giant picks that they jab your cavities with and how the cover up their mistakes by asking you to rinse...

He does an impression of severely frozen mouth that almost had me peeing...

" i don;t have a bottom lip and you want me to spit!" so since you have no bottom lip you just open your mouth and let it all fall out... but there is a line of spit between your bottom lip and that tiny toilet bowl. so you try and shake it off! and it is shaking over here and it is shaking over there. The denstist sees it and says "oh look! a rainbow!" and he sends you a bill for that! making rainbows!"

I have not laughed so hard in sooo long!! ! best cultural event of the buy nothing year EVAH!!!

Dentistssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

I bought it.

2007-10-24T21:07:00.001-07:00

So I bought the new fridge yesterday. Still don't have it home yet, but tomorrow hopefully. Amy kindly volunteered her car to help me fetch the fridge but it was not ready for pick-up in time to take her step-son to basket ball, hence It is still at SEARS.
Living out of the electric cooler, though inefficient, it has me in the small fridge habbit. The new fridge is stainless, and pretty cute. I hope its modern finish does not conflict with the rest of the kitchen.

I also bought something else that i had not planned on buying, and it is making me feel worse than i know it should! I bought a $5.99 black asymetrical cartigan at value village. I was only looking for wool for christmas gifts. Amy was looking for a black cartigan, and in helping her look i came across it. I think it really is me. It fits well, and winter is coming. I think I need to get over myself.

How I feel How I feel.

2007-10-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about, and tried to differentiate the sensations of missing things or people?
I walked home from work today. I finished late, it was 19C, and I needed some debriefing time.
The warm night air in the park on my way home brought on a nagging nostalgia: that gutty longing for summer nights past, of long walks in the ravine with friends in junior high, of looking up at the sky on camping trips. No specific memories, just themes of memories.
And then I started to think about HOW I was feeling WHAT I was feeling. I started thinking about people I miss, or have missed and tried to quantify and qualify it.
All of the missing things involve various degrees of an aching chest. Varying depths and strengths of chest involvement.

When I miss my Mom and Dad it is in the center of my chest and the upper surface of my arms, the hug muscles. Missing my Dad is also a bit in my upper back. I think this is because his hugs are a bit bigger, and he is a back-patter when he hugs.

Missing good friends is also in the center of my chest, but spreads to my cheeks; the laughing, smiling parts.

I miss my cats with my fingertips.

I miss more intimate friends with the small of my back and the space just in front of my lips.

I miss my home with a general body ache.

I miss people I have never met, but would like to meet, with my forehead.

I miss running with the skin on my face and neck.

I miss the Ocean with my nose and lungs.

I miss my sister’s yet-to-be-born child with my eyes, my arms, my chest, my cheek.

Recent and necessary evils (purchases).

2007-10-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Good Bye Fridge!

In a previous post I mentioned that I was hoping to find a new home for my fridge, well the fridge is gone, and I am living out of an electric cooler. I have found a large sized bar fridge that uses the same amount of energy in one year as my old one used in 2 months. It is small, but I think it will be sufficient. I won’t have the new one until later this week, but I can already picture how open the kitchen will look with out the old Hulk. And a family than was needing a fridge now has one. I hope that this is not off loading, but I guess a free fridge is not a burden to a family with no fridge.

In preparation for the arrival of the new smaller fridge I have painted the previously hidden microwave stand and a little table that the new fridge will go on to put it at a convenient height with left-over paint from the trim in my house, so everything is all very match-y now.

I have started on a wedding gift for a friend, a sewing project, so far I am quite pleased. It did require the minimal capital purchase of a few sewing supplies, though they are all raw materials.

Last week I also bought materials for Halloween decorations. I guess this is a bit of a cheat, but most of the materials I already had. Cheese cloth for making ghosts for the yard ($3.40 per ghost). Rit dye for colouring it ($1.50 per pack) There are currently 2 in my yard I a white wispy one and a red demonic one. I also made ghosts with my friend Amy’s Step kids on Saturday night. They all turned out great. Very spooky.

The decorating of the yard turned out great. I made a coffin out of the old fence we took down this summer. It is all holes and cracks so the lights I put in it shine out in a eerie way. I also made a bunch of grave markers out of the fence boards, and other wood that has been salvaged, found under the deck, etc etc. There are creepy eyes peering out of the leaves made out of a cracked painted tennis ball left-over from an over-zealous dog named Jessie, and a Styrofoam ball that some how ended up in the bushes after a wind storm. I painted scary eyes on the old toilet that I replaced with a low flow, and added teeth and a long red tongue from the scraps of a long ago sewing project.

I really hope I get lots of kids on Halloween! Which brings me to my next purchase. I will need to buy Halloween candy. I can’t give away home-made stuff (safety issues). I am currently trying to see if there is such a thing as fair-trade candy, or organic or organic fair trade candy… so far no luck… sugar sugar everywhere, and not a fair-trade treat to eat!

Home is where the H is.

2007-10-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had a conversation with a friend about why Regina is Home… with a capital H. I have been thinking a lot about it since.

All are welcome for dinner!

At the time I suggested that it may be because I moved here after a big break-up. It might be that compared to Saskatoon, my 1st Saskatchewan stop, In Regina I feel like I am building a life, living in the whole city, not just campus.

My friend asked if it was simply cost of living, and in someways I know it is. It means that as a single income household I have the disposable income to not be house poor, that I can see an end to my mortgages. Though I don’t know what I will do when the house and land are paid for, it seems that the freedom that may bring is very heartening. I think about taking my kids (imaginary at present) out of school and traveling for a year here and there, I think of possible shifts in career to less-lucrative fields without fear of foreclosure. I think of working part time.

As my friend suggested, perhaps part of the home feeling is the independence that I have here. I make my decisions. I am accountable to myself. and that is pretty much it. I am building new networks of friends that are outside work and school, that are “mine”, not borrowed from a boyfriend, no just joining an existing group. In network terms i am becoming a bridging component between currently unconnected networks.

I think part of my love of this city is the love of my home. I feel like it says more about me than I ever could (and for those of you that know me, I can say A LOT). I like that people feel welcome when they step in the door. I feel like the place has good Karma, or JuJu or gestalt, or what ever you would call it. I feel Home when I am Home.

The Living Room, I like living there.

My friend also asked what it would take for me to leave this place, and at the time all I could really think of was a good working opportunity, but I have given this more thought. I tried to picture myself leaving this place with a good feeling in my guts. And I think the thing that keeps me here will likely be the true cause for me to leave.

I think I will leave this place following my Heart: whether this is my Heart in the form of a person; or my Heart as a driving whim; or my Heart as a drive to do different things in a different setting.

I have loved a few cities. Halifax was one: I loved it as a kid before I ever set foot there. And even when I left, I kept calling it home for nearly 4 years, probably because I left a piece of my Heart there. But now I have that piece back, and though I still love that city, it is not Home any more.

I guess I don’t have my heart nailed to anything that specific here, I guess my Heart feels good just being here and being open to what ever is next. And just feeling open feels pretty damn great.

I have always been of the idea that you need to be happy where ever you are, and much of that is a decision, perhaps a faith that you are where you should be, where ever that is.

Heart with a Capital H.
Home with a Capital H.

In the end I guess if my Heart leaves, I will have to go where ever it has found its new Home.

wanting? needing? neither!

2007-10-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

I have found the thing that makes me want to cheet... It is music... or events in general... I catch myself trying to convince myself that a concert has no foot print... and why, if i can attend 3 free concerts, can't I pay for 3?

I know that my rules are not like laws of nature. That technically there is nothing truely stopping me in the way that there is gavity stoping me from just choosing to levitate.

But then i think that the part of the point of this is (re)learning the difference between want and need. It truely is a want. But it is a pretty good want... and by good i mean, ethically and pleasingly good.

But then i also believe that supporting artists and the arts in general should be a priority...

I have found an outlet for missing new CDs... CBC Radio 3.... Canadian Music, free, and you can build playlists so you have on-demand Music... Pretty awesome... Have the good ol' lap top hooked to the stereo, and rock on!

Perhaps this has become a bit about being cheap-o... have i started hording my money when others a hording things they have purchased?

Now i by no means wish this delema a mean that i wish to stop the Buy-nothing year... It is liberating really. and it makes me feel better about the future of the universe... even though i recognise that i am not really making a dent...

I don't miss shopping for clothes. Sewing them is more rewarding (thought their have been a few disasters...)

I don't miss premade foods, except when i get home late from work and am hungary. But the solution i have found for this is perhaps a bit of a cheat... At the Ukrainian CO-OP by my house i have found locally-home-made pierogis. they are non-processed and part of the local food concept. This winter i hope to make some from scratch and freeze them, but until then, i think they are pretty awesome. I like to hope someone's little granny made them.

I don't miss driving. I have found that the bus makes me prioritise my time and plan my trips. I think in the end it saves time, because i don't end up going back and forth between ends of town in a disorganised, and indecisive retail furvor. I really enjoy my time on the bus. It helps me plan my day, and de-compress after work. I plan meals, I plan analysis (for work), I eavesdrop.

It is wrong, but that part is kind of fun! Makes life seem normal.

I have been walking every where that i don't take my bike or the bus... I think my pants are already fitting better! ( yay free bonus!) This weekend I walked all over the city. Walked with a friend around the lake in the afternoon on Monday, and then again with other pals and their dog. Great for the general state of mind.

One other thing that feels good about this process is that it is seeming to bring out the sharing side of people, I have a friend that is passing on his few days old globe and mail. ( not that i got this paper before, but due to the buy nothing thing we had a conversation that lead to me reusing his) I have found a group called full-circle (like free cycle) where people can post what they need, or what they have, and all is exchanged for free. I am hoping to find a new home for my fridge, and am planning on replacing it with a smaller, and more eficient one. There is no need for me to have such a Huge (normal sized i guess, but for 1 person, huge) one. So if the fridge finds a home i will be (Gasp) buying a new littler one.

Okay, well i need to hit the hey.

I Hope all is well with you, and that this ramble will not drive you to drink!
CHeers!
Erin

nerds...

2007-10-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks Toothpaste for Dinner... you always say what I am thinking!

Late night power surge

2007-10-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

Well the journey of reduced consumption continues quite happily! I have just finished an almost manic house cleaning binge. My grandma was discharged from hospital today, so I visited with her after work. I got home at about 8pm, made dinner and a pot of soup for the next few days. did the dishes. the washed the floors, then hung a curtain, beat the area rugs, put away books, and generally tidied. the un-kemptness of my life has once again been repressed!

I have just finished sewing a new skirt, making a big pot of minestrone soup and have steadfastly given up my car for the winter. I have cancelled the insurance ( knowingly) as of Oct 1, and have bought a bus pass. I am becoming more active with the Regina Car Share Co-op, and will be helping with the process of incorporation, and putting together a budget with my obsessive spread sheet skills...

This weekend I hosted 1 diner, I made Saag Paneer and Dhal, and we made an apple pie from the great apples i brought back from Nova Scotia. I also enjoyed dinner at my friend Amy's who had a lovely spread of Indian, Japanese, and Jewish delicacies!
Saturday was My Grandma's 82nd Birthday. She was unfortunately still in the hospital, but the nurses and other staff helped with the festivities, singing and enjoying a chocolate oatmeal cupcake, with Chocolate whip cream frosting...

I am not intending to turn this blog into a culinary documentary, but it seems to have currently turned down that route. I find that cooking and food prep have changed during this process. Perhaps because i need to plan more, or because i am becoming more conscientious about how, where and the context of the production of each ingredients. I think that these qualities of food have become a defining factor for those foods. I look at food that comes in plastic packages and it gives me a mini panic attack. I worry about what has been put into the food: ie preservatives. I worry about the distance that the ingredients have traveled, and the distance that the finished product has traveled. I am worried about the way that foods like sugar cane or beets and corn and other foods that end up being processed into refined sugars are encouraging the conversion of more and more land to intensive agriculture... I worry that people are not worried about these things as well...

I think part my current food blogging, is that cooking has become more of an art or a craft again. It feels good to make a lovely soup that is well flavoured, colourful, healthy and unique.

well this late night energy surge is finally coming to an end... I guess sleep will make tomorrow an easier day!

cheers!
xox
E

2007-10-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am back from my vacation, and I think I was very successful in keeping my consumption to a minimum. The greatest proportion of spending was on eating and restaurants. In Halifax I was staying with friends so breakfast was always at home. All meals out were at truly Nova Scotian restaurants. Had Chowder and fish cakes out by Hubard’s and a chicken burger at The Chicken Burger. Mussels and gingerbread out at Peggy’s Cove. Smoked Salmon and cider at the Triangle. Sushi out in Good old Dartmouth. The only “souvenir” that I brought back from Halifax other than fond memories and photos was a 20 lb bag of Gravenstein apples. They are sweet and tart, great for eating and cooking.
In London my hostel had free breakfast, scones, and cereal. I would pack a snack of a scone and jam (this felt very British!) and avoided general snacking in the streets. I ate the required fish and chips with mushy peas. I had curry on brick lane, and enjoyed a falafel at the farmers market.
Lots of people have asked if I bought clothes in London, but I didn’t, I looked and found a few things I liked, but they were from big generic shops that I could likely find at home or something quite similar. Most things I saw were not unique enough to shake the feeling of shopping just for the sake of shopping. I did buy a new pair of glasses, which are getting new lenses this week. So I think they are my London Fashion Find. I also bought Tea from Harrods, a little wooden London Block set, a bottle of gin, some Stilton Cheese, and a Tin of cookies for people at work. I bought a Book of “Banksy” Graffiti art, and a little vase at the design show that is glazed with 70 yr old roof thatch from a town in the UK. My suitcase was easy to close, and I had only taken a little carry on one in the 1st place.

Sorry for the gapsin reporting!

I think the biggest challenge right now is not seeming like a cheep-skate… or not caring that people see this as simply a way to not spend money… oh well! SO far so good!

Not Buying Much!

2007-09-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

I have been away from home on business and pleasure since last Wednesday. I feel a bit conflicted that i have been eating out during this time, but have not had regular access to a kitchen or fridge. Halifax was a great whirl wind of visiting and catching up with old friends, Not enough time!
I am now in London waiting for the Natural History Museum to open. so far the only money i have spent is on a travel pass for the trains and underground and some eats. Things are expensive here but not bad so far. Yesterday Véro met me at the airport and we wandered the city, going to brick lane to eat curry and window shop. saw a number of cute coats and jackets that i may attempt to recreate when i get home.
I guess this should not be a surprise, but i don;t really feel like i am in a foreign country let alone on another continent! aside from having to pay to use a public toilet that is! That and trying to train myself to look the correct direction for cars!
The hostel has been great so far. the rooms are clean and quiet and the staff very helpful, except for the fact that i couldn't use the Scottish pounds that Michelle gave me to use! The bank exchanged them happily and using them for the tube was fine too.
Well the museum should open in a few minutes. more non-shopping news to follow!
E

Wow! I did not know i could do That!

2007-09-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

This morning i accidently stepped on my glasses. The glasses that i decided i would wait to replace until next year. They are the right perscription, and i generally like them. I lost my other glasses in to the Red Deer River while canoing over the July-Long and so there are not a pair that I like in Reserve. I do have one other set of glasses, but they are PainFULLY ugly. I bought them during a brief period of conservativism and Brown only back in 2002. (This phase is deeply embarassing to be, Thank gawd for good lawyers!)

Any way, so i was faced with 2 problems. I wasn;t supposed to buy new ones, AND it is unlikely i could even get a new pair before leaving for Ottawa Wednesday, En Route to Halifax & London... I can't find my one pair of contacts either, and to be honest, they wouldn't last 2 weeks....

So in the interm i taped the broken glasses togther using duct tape accross the nose. They worked, but didn't stay in place well. Oh well i could see.

Well while making a late lunch i was digging in a drawer in my kitchen and came accross a pair of $10 zebra print cat-eye glasses. I had bought them at Claire's, a cheapy-girly shop before chloe's wedding, and would sometimes wear them with contacts... well they are about the same shape as the recently broken black ones...

SOoooo I popped the non-perscrioption lenses out of the Zebra glasses, and popped in the perscription ones. Not quite a fit.... so i warmed up the Zebra ones, flatted the eye holes a bit and VOILA!!! GLASSES!!!! The fit is not super tight so i may add a drop of crazy glue, but I think they will last until i get home!!! ( i will bring my UBER ugly one's just in case...)

Shower Gift Completed...

2007-09-08T22:40:00.001-07:00

Well as is the style of Erin, the shower gift was finished slightly after the last minute... but it turned out quite well i think...

The Lovely Lipstic cozy hides within it a sneaky friend for the bride to be... let's face it. A good man acepts a helping hand.

Border Defense & the Bus.

2007-09-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Please note that there are 2 cats in my living room...

i am sitting listening to CBC radio and finishing off the final touches on a shower gift. The program is discussing the dispute over northern waters between Canada, USA, Russia, Denmark & Norway.
This is very ironic. The dog has left my house and gone back to Edmonton with the last room-mate Michelle. Since Jessie's (the dog) departure the cats have been renegotiating the household boundaries. While the dog was here, she shared the main floor and Michelle's room with Hussy. Hussy is the younger and more recent house cat. Jessie and Hussy got along quite well... they fought but they liked it. Truro, my older vetran house cat was less fond of the dog. When Jessie moved in, Truro basically moved into my room and that became her primary residence. She stayed in there for about 4 months.
Truro has now begun forging her way back onto the main floor. This morning she staked a claim to the couch and my lap as i was whipping yarn through the crochet hook. She would sit on my lap and hiss and growl at Hussy, all the while happily needing the house-coat draped accross my lap.
I don't think there is a UN convention to use as a guideline so I guess I will just have to default to what ever the cats decide. Currently they are just feet apart, and i think Hussy is beginning to relinquish territory.
I will try not to alienate either party. Angry cats can mean bad things for their human families... Thinking of it i should make sure the litter boxes are very clean.

This afternoon there is an Art installation in the garages of the near-by Cathedral neighbourhood. I will check it out after I finish the crazy shower gift and before attending that excellent event. Yay free events! Yay shower games!

Yesterday I took the bus to work for the 1st time. This may sound like a lie, or crazy or something, but i really like the bus. I got a few rows done on the caplet (now finished... pictures pending) got to listen to a lovely conversation between to south american women in spanish. I had a delightful exchange with the bus driver, and had this weird zen feeling of quiet in city noise. As soon as i got on the bus I felt better. I know this seems weird but i think i missed the bus.

Cheers!

Honestly! How did i spend $139 buying nothing

2007-09-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

1st week going well!

Well this not buying thing is going well. I have become more productive in the making things department. Perhaps making a new thing from old things is substituting for the rush of buying new things. oh well what ever is floating the boat!

Over the long weekend I sewed that dress that I bought the material for in Edmonton when I was home. It turned out ODD. not odd enough to scrap it, but odd. I meditating on how to fix it.

I also sewed the curtains for my closet, and made my mom a birthday gift.

I fused plastic bags together to create a farmers market bag for her, and made her a mini sock creature named Tad.
I even avoided using postage (not actually in the rules, but still not bad) by sending it home with my parents’ neighbours who stayed at my house Tuesday night. Yay free door-to-door courier. They joined me for dinner on Tuesday and stayed overnight. I was able to buy dinner making supplies from the local little grocery and butcher, which fits the plan well. We had kabobs, grilled veggies and salad, with fruit and yoghurt for dessert. I find that I am already eating less crap. I have made soup from scratch, have been buying almost exclusively organic, and am realising how often I was not realty eating well. I still have a small reserve of crap in the house, which is a bit tempting, but I remind myself that I have 12 months to go and perhaps the crap will be better appreciated later in the process. I have also been more motivated to make “things”. I think that this may just be honeymoon phase of the process but right now all I want to do is sew,cook, crochet, and build. I am getting over a round of strep throat right now, so I was home sick yesterday. (I did buy antibiotics) I don’t have TV at my house so the day of sick was happily taken up by naps and crochet. I am mostly done a very cute caplet inspired by my stitch and bitch-Happy Hooker book. It is made from lovely fuzzy yarn I found at Value Village right before the buy freeze started. Not sure if it is a gift or a keeper yet.

So far this week I have bough $45 in groceries, $20 of which was from local producers from the farmers market: bread, apples, tomatoes, beans, summer squash. They are more expensive than grocery produce, but taste better by a long shot. I had put $200 away to buy my neighbours couch from them, but found one at value village for $44.99, which better suited my room. It is a green chaise style: Very funky. I was divided about if I could buy it, but since I have already set the $ aside, and it was recycling, and it saved me $155 I did buy it. Is this rationalization? To be Honest I did not NEED the couch. It was a Want. It is nice to have my bedroom fully furnished. I have enjoyed a couple of cat naps on it in the sun, with the cat. Blah blah blah.
Expenses to date
$45- groceries
$35- sewing notions for pattern (transfer paper for the bloody pleats!!!! Pins, and my annual sew club membership-50% off until dec 2009)
$45- couch
$12- antibiotics
$2- hydrogen peroxide- I have learned that it is a good household cleaner, and I am out of the stuff I usually use.
------------------------------------------------------
$139.

This still seems like a lot. If I remove the non-regular expenses though $45 ain’t bad. I do need to make sure that the non-regulars remain non-regular though!!!

Thanks wardrobe refashion!

2007-08-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

A quick google is making me really feel a part of something bigger. here is the pledge from wardobe refashion, that i think fits well with my intentions.

The Pledge
I _Erin Elisabeth_____ pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 12 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings! Signed__Erin Elisabeth ________________.

I think this says it!

2007-08-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the the last day. went for indian food and will be going out for a drink after work.

I have come across this explanation of why not to buy things. It is from the really really free market. http://reallyreallyfree.org/

Because there is enough for everyone
Because sharing is more fufilling than owning
Because corporations would rather see landfills overflow than anyone get anything for free
Because scarcity is a myth constructed to keep us at the mercy of the economy
Because a sunny day outside is better than anything money can buy
Because "free trade" is a contradiction of terms
Because no one should have to do without food, shelter, entertainment, and community
Because life should be a picnic, but it only will be if we make it happen

strange reactions

2007-08-30T21:30:00.001-07:00

people all have very different reactions to my buy nothing year. some think its great and have done similar things themselves. some are surprised but they seem to see where i am coming from. some look at me like i have grown an extra head and that i must have stopped taking my meds.
But some people have reacted as though i am doing something deviant and WRONG. like i have said that i will kick small dogs for a year or won't call my mother for a year.
I admit that what i am doing is not the norm. it is not even close to the norm, but it does trouble me the trouble some people have with the idea.

There are many common questions that people ask. some i can answer some i can't yet.

why? ( see last 2 blog entries)
can you buy underwear? -if i were to truely need it, but i own alot of underoos.
what will you eat? - food. i can still buy food, just not restaurant or premade processed stuff.
what will you do with the money? not sure yet... mortgage and vacation?

There are others but that is the general theme...

TOnight i did some stock up shopping of a frivilous nature. I bought make up and ate sushi. I did make sure i bought make-up that was not animal tested. the sushi was very good.

I will not miss the mall! and i realised that i will not have to set foot in oneo ver christmas! Weeeeeeeeeee!

3 more days of shop....

2007-08-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

I am actually getting excited about the next year of restraint, improvisation and do it yourself.
I am a bit concerned that i have booked my tickets to halifax and london, and that i will be dining out while there, though hopefully not too much. I think in order to counter ballence this i will extend my year to oct 1 2008. but i will wait and see how successful i am during my travels.

I have been trying to avoid "stocking up" syndrome. I have bought a few extra boxes of my favourite tea and i did buy the fabric to finish my bedroom reno-s while in Edm. I also bought a pattern to sew a dress for the weddings i am attending this winter. I think i will go and buy a few chocolate bars for the freezer, and a couple of bottles of wine for the cupboard.

I know that as the process evolves there will be items that may fall in the grey zone, so i think i will send them out to a vote for friends and followers of the blog.

Also i have a few more items to add to my list of "okay to buy":

I had my ener-guide inspection done on my home today. It has given me a list of things that i can do to improve the efficency of my home. Purchases that are on this list are acceptable. When possible i will attempt to complete work on my own, but some jobs do require training so if i have to hire someone in that instance it is okay.
I can buy new fabric if it is for a particular project and only if there is not a previous unfinished sewing project in the works. in other words no trolling for fabric.
I can buy used stuff for home improvement/yard work. But i can only buy for specific projects. no trolling for lumber, fixit gadgets, or weird lamps.

Is the list of can buys getting too long?

I am trying to decide what foods are concidered okay and what aren't...

Is baby corn in a can okay?

Is Frank's red hot okay?

Is curry paste okay? ( as opposed to whole or individual spices)

Is flavoured yogurt okay? Plain is. I think i need to add my own fruit. Is that excessive?

Hmmm. I am excited for my reverse excess of excessive non-shopping.

Hmmm.

10 days Before the start...

2007-08-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I am making a new years ( sept always feels like the real new years thanks to 20yrs of school) resolution that for 1 calendar Year Starting Sept 1st I will buy Nothing for one whole year. This decision has sprouted from a number of stimulii...
1) A CBC program that interviewed a woman in New York who was part-way into this jourey along with her huspband and 4 children.
2) A creaping depression about the consumer impact on the planet.
3) A realization that i waste most of my decent income and still have credit card debt.
4) I need to relearn the difference between Need and Want.

I have been developing a set of rules after reading blogs etc from others who have taken this path and i shall lay them out here for you (and for me)

I can buy food. But not processed/premade foods. I will continue to buy bread products, Raw ingredients for making other foods. No premade cookies, bars etc.
I will buy as much locally produced produce, bread, meat etc as possible, recognizing that i live in Saskatchewan so unless i wish to eat only dry lentils and frozen produce all winter this will be somewhat limited.
I will buy organic food whenever possible
I will buy toilet paper
I will not eat out in restaurants- with one exeption. I am single. I wish to date. In a new relationship or potential relationship i can go for fairtrade coffee or tea. I will bring my own cup. If a date turns into a boyfriend then back home for a game of scrabble or to the library with a thermos of cocoa.
I will restrict my use of my car. I will be taking it off the road for the winter, possibly selling it in the spring depending. I will take public transit, car pool, bike and walk.
I will not buy clothing. I have tonnes of clothes. I can sew new clothes from old clothes ( a la preloved) or from fabric that i already have.
I can buy sewing notions, i.e. zippers, thread etc to make clothes or gifts. I will try and use what i have before i buy anything new, and will try and buy used if possible.
I will make gifts, not buy them.
I will not buy alcohol... hense i am about to start a batch of cider, and will start in on the mead.
If appliances brake i will try and live without them, or fix them, or barring this as a possibility replace them. ie if the fridge dies, i will get a new one, if the micro goes... to bad.
I can choose 1 culural event per month to pay to attend. ie music, play, library film etc. I wish to reduce my consumption not stop supporting local arts etc.
I can get a YMCA membership. excercise in not consumption.

I have 2 exceptions for when i will be breaking my rules. I am going to hawaii for a wedding in Feb, and while there i can eat out with friends, as it seems rediculous to go all that way and not socialise. Though I will pack lunches etc for my hikes and solo travels. The same stands for the trip i have planned to see babies and friends in london and Halifax... though i will keep it to a minimum. When traveling to these fabulous places i can choose a souvenir. Perferably art, but can't just buy random junk. I should come home with lots of pictures and a lighter bag.

I have been slowly weaning myself off the shop for the past month... I am excited rather that worried. I am asking friends to be supportive. This does not mean buying me things. It means understanding when i suggest we get a movie from the library and hangout at my place. Lets be creative about not paying someone else to allow us to see each other.