Fleeting Reasons

Just passing thru

2012-01-20T21:47:00.000-08:00

So longed for, pined after, in this temperate clime...yes, that beautiful SNOW, it did come. It teased, it dawdled, it dabbled... then silently and deftly blanketed our worlds, daring us to embrace our loved ones, to laugh, to find joy and contemplate our needs.

Send it to Pluto??

2011-07-25T07:30:00.001-07:00

So my son's response to my telling him that there really is NO AWAY in the phrase to throw AWAY, is "Why can't we shuttle our garbage out to Pluto?" My response "we can't do that, that would be irresponsible, it will encourage people to keep throwing things AWAY. Just because it's out of sight doesn't mean it disappears. How would you like someone dumping their garbage in your yard?"
He says, "but Mom, nobody lives there!"
So I lecture the poor child about our microwave, instant gratification, disposable society and I am left to contemplate responsibility.

In our own yards...

2011-07-18T03:01:00.001-07:00

When I chat with friends about the days of old, I'm reminded of the proverbial 40 acres and a mule... the outhouses, the wells to draw water, wash basins, wood burning stoves, large chunks of ice for refrigeration, washing clothes in the creek, crops and animals to tend, mouths to feed. Then I wonder..."what did our great grandparents do with their trash? Their left overs?"
They composted, they reused, recycled and re-created things with the remnants, they burned piles and buried things. Items were made and/or purchased often with visions of how the containers they came in would be reused.
Trash STAYED on the property, there was no weekly visit from a disposal vehicle looking for a trash can at the end of the driveway. It was very natural to reuse everything when you knew that it would otherwise pile up somewhere on YOUR own property.
Imagine...all of the garbage we've ever created sitting in our own yards.

Shifting toward the light

2011-07-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

About a month ago while exchanging facebook comments with some amazing friends of mine about bartering, local CSA's, the trouble with plastics, and our everyday "we are mothers, we have to save the world", you know, everyday mothering stuff...a friend suggested that we might try living a few weeks or a month without purchasing plastic. Let's give it a go, see what alternatives we come up with, how well we can do it. (Please do see my friend Rebecca's article about the idea month less plastic) And being who I am, I said, "Sure, I'll do it".

Initially, I thought I can do this. Then I thought about all the plastic I live with, about how much plastic goes into my grocery cart. I was worried that I couldn't do it, not if it meant changing my world to one WITHOUT plastic, not buying food wrapped in plastic, toiletries, detergent and well... I panicked. Working my way around it was looking impossible. Just the thought of it had me dazed...the amount of plastic on the grocery store shelves, the amount in general that we aren't able to recycle, how much isn't even considered for recycling...it was more than daunting.

I relaxed a bit when I realized our goal would be to live with LESS plastic. I could settle into the idea of using the plastic I already have more efficiently and avoiding the purchase of new plastic. Whew!! I knew there was going to be a shift in my life style, a charlie horse-like cramp in my somewhat complicated shopping needs but, I was much more hopeful. I can already see how removing plastic from my pantry and my kitchen is going to force me to make more time to prepare food, to be with and take better care of my family.

It has taken a month just to wrap my head around the 'month less plastic' project. I've already spent hours walking through grocery stores feeling stifled by the lack of alternatives; hours talking to friends about plastic, about allergies, about recipes, about canning; buying in bulk, how to store things, where to buy meat not wrapped in plastic and styrofoam. Eliminating the specialty items for my daughter alone will cut out 60% of the plastic in my cart. I definitely need some safe alternatives.

I have so many questions about how to do this in a way that works for my family. So I'm on a mission, to seek the wisdom of friends who have already shifted their lives to using less plastic, who know something about cooking for the allergy ridden and who are dedicated to creating less waste.

I have also had a pressing urge to look up recycling facilities, thrift/consignment stores and charities that will take the things we don't want, use or play with anymore and all of those things, I just don't know where to put. Expired medication and over the counter drugs, light bulbs, batteries, broken toys, battered unusable shoes, where does all this stuff go? I know I can't put them in the trash. If I do, where will the end up and in whose back yard? My pantry has become a catch all for these things because I've been unaware of where to take them for recycling.

Some of the things I have found important and helpful to remember in my plastic detox process, are all of the steps we have already taken to reduce the use of plastic, energy and other waste in our home. It is this mental list of things we have already done, already figured out as a family that will keep me sane when it feels like I'm swimming upstream. It's not necessarily going to be easy. It may just feel hard in the beginning. I know it can be depressing at times, in the face of how much plastic there is to cope with. I believe it is good too to remember that every piece of trash you pick up and carry to an appropriate recycling bin or station, really IS helpful. Every little bit counts. Holding onto the efforts we've made as individuals and to those we've made as a community are so very important.
If you want some enlightenment about how plastic stays with us forever, check out plastic is forever on my friend Liesl's blog.

The beautiful thing about all of my questioning and preparing has been looking into solutions, talking to friends, sharing ideas and resources, getting suggestions and offers to help sort out my pantry. It's been a wonderful way to connect with like minded people who care about what planet we hope to leave our children's children and such a tremendous learning experience. It has been a community building experience for me, a wake up call to organize my life and to fight food allergies that have had me feeling dumbfounded and confused, to combat them with time, energy and forethought. Walking the "less plastic walk" could give me an opportunity to get my life back.

Starting this journey has been a very good thing. This will change my priorities in many ways. I've come face to face with convenience in all it's glory, seen how the chaos inherent in reaching for the convenient option, clutters my mind and my home. I'm simply deciding to clear things out. Everyday I get to make choices. Making choices with my eyes open is the key.

I may fall off of the LESS PLASTIC wagon. I could be tempted to buy more, tempted by convenience. I can hear it now..."It feels too hard, I don't have the time, I've given into pleading children, everyone else buys it, who cares about sustainability? our population density won't support us much longer anyway or maybe I just need to call a doctor to ask about taking Prozac or something equally numbing".
Convenient excuses.

In truth if I "fall off" the less plastic wagon, I am choosing to be numb.
Comfortably numb...
again.

Simplicity calling...

2011-07-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

Noticed these sitting in a jar at a friends place on a table outside in the sunshine and started thinking about the beauty of simplicity. How very complicated beauty is and how simply it seems to be arranged and ordered by God.

Kim Scott-O Photography

2009-12-29T20:56:00.001-08:00

One Vein

2009-12-29T20:47:00.001-08:00

Featured in November 09 issue of Town & Country Gardens Blogspot in the Flora Now section, see "Sweet Gum"

Rice Paper

2009-04-26T14:56:00.001-07:00

I took this photo at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. It was published in Schmap Seattle's 9th addition, which is a visitor's guide to the Seattle area.

The Light...it spoke to me

2009-01-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

My New Year's Resolution,

"Hold onto my light".

Remember it's whisper

behind the clouds,

remember it's strength,

it's power and glory

when all is clear

it never falters.

Here's wishing you clear skies and beaming rays of light in 2009

Poem and photo published at www.authentictimes.com Jan 09 issue

Close up View of Mount Rainier

2009-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

"This is a shot I couldn't resist while we were hiking up at Mount Rainier. I was busy taking shots of the summer flowers, trying to get sweeping landscape images when I looked up and noticed my daughter on her father's shoulders. The glacier that was directly in front of our little hiking crew, kind of jumped out at us. It was a complete surprise. Powerful, majestic and beautiful. It made us all feel rather insignificant. It was hard to keep walking so we just stopped and stared a bit." --Kim Scott-Olson

published at www.todaysphoto.org