What's up with Elisabeth & George?: Let's take care of the Earth we've got.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Let's take care of the Earth we've got.

Happy Earth Day!

First things first. George did not get picked for jury duty (thank goodness). He was stuck there from 8am till after 6pm while they decided who they wanted. Thank GOODNESS it wasn't him. Anyway...

I have been watching YouTube videos on permaculture, locavorism, and hyperlocavorism. I've seen videos on homesteading, and tips for easy vegetable gardening. The big theme for me right now is that it is irresponsible, wasteful, and vain to use your land (only) for something other than food production. And part two of that theme is it's easy and very possible to feed many adults from a average-sized, suburban plot of land. Not only that, but the gardens that result can be lush and beautiful!

Did you know that the White House lawn once had sheep grazing on it? Did you know that "lawns" were invented by aristocracy who wanted to show that they were so stinking rich they could waste the land they had on something as frivolous and useless as grass? Did you know that Victory Gardens were planted in the US during the World Wars and that it was actually patriotic during that time to produce your own food? Did you know that there is a shortage of arable land in the world? Knowing that, how can we waste what we have and not produce any or much food?

There have been multiple recent movements for the White House lawn to be used for food production to encourage a change in the rest of the country. I supported it. It actually worked! There is now a good-sized organic vegetable garden there. I personally wish it were bigger, but baby steps I guess.

Unfortunately I am not ALLOWED by my Home Owner's Association to have a full-on vegetable garden. I have been bending that rule a bit over the years and incorporating vegetables and fruits into our landscape, but now I want something more extreme and it will not be allowed. I'm working on getting up the energy to try and change that. In the meantime I'm learning about indoor vegetable gardening. It doesn't solve my problem of wasting the resources I have on a silly lawn, but it does help cut down my food bill (which is desperately needed right now) and does provide me with the possibility of home-grown food year round.

Here's some videos to inspire you. I don't have the video on indoor gardening that really inspired me. For some reason it was removed from YouTube. If I see it again in the future, I'll post it.

Here's one of the movements for food to be produced on the White House lawn:

This one is SUPER inspirational. Look how much food you can produce on .1 acres!

They feed 4 adults (up to 80% of their diet) plus sell surplus to local restaurants and caterers from their tiny plot of land!

More from this family:

It's so easy:

So, so easy:

And with a little more work, maybe some help from friends...

Activism:

More Activism:

This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

As for me. I've started my indoor gardening. I have some seeds, a grow lamp, some established plants and motivation. I'm planning my attack for the outdoor gardening and how to green up our lives. What are you guys doing?

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How we're doing right now.

April 6th, 2009
Oh man, moving back home has been quite a transition! For Regin especially. It has taken him three months to return to being fully, or almost fully, potty trained. But we're home and happy to be with friends and in an environment where things are easier.

But of course, not everything is easier. George's first day back to work he learned that the company was exiting the business and he and all the other people that work on that product (including all those people he trained in Penang) were told to look for other jobs.

His last day was March 31st. No time for that cozy little 'sabbatical' though; after he finished his last day of work, his family called and told us they are coming (from Florida) for a visit on the 10th! This would be no big deal (other than being terribly exciting) if we were fully moved back in, but of course, until now, we've had VERY little motivation to fully unpack! So now we're preparing the house at warp speed!

You know, I do miss Penang. Hard to say what I miss exactly, because I know it's more than our friends there, but I feel a certain pang. And all the time we were there, other than missing family, friends, easy living, and snow, I never once actually missed 'Colorado.'

When we got back to Colorado, I expected to have a new and complete love for the place. I do appreciate some things a lot more, especially visual things. I see beauty where I didn't before. But it hasn't been the feeling of home that I expected, and I still have some of the same issues with the place. But what I do love IMMENSELY and will always love IMMENSELY is the people we have here. And it's been absolutely amazing to see how Regin has picked right back up where he left off with his loved ones here. There's no doubt in my mind that he somehow remembers them.