TIME FOR A BREAK

I'm giving the blogging world a little break. Not long, just enough time to deal with priority #1. My sister is in the hospital again. She had gallstone pancreatitis and we had to remove the gallbladder. Instead of your typical lapriscopic surgery she had to have an open. Her incision is about 6 inches long or more. Not pretty. Her recovery isn't going well. She can't eat and the lack of nutrition puts her at risk of developing other infections. She also developed blood clots.

For those of you who know her condition you can understand why it is time for me to focus on this and step away from the computer for a while. Thank you for all the well wishes on FB and inkstainers. I'll update you all soon.

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MAKE YOUR OWN BUG REPELLENT THIS SUMMER

Years ago, probably around 1992/1993, while I was rock climbing in the adirondacks I was introduced to the "black fly." It was my first exposure to black flies. My climbing guide had warned me that it was "black fly" season but the only black flies I knew of were those pesky kitchen flies. You know, the ones that are born as little maggots and then fly around until you kill them with a fly swatter. So, I didn't think twice about climbing during black fly season. 

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SPIRITUAL CLEANSING

Have you ever gone somewhere and came home feeling completely sapped of energy, not knowing why? Spent time with friends or family and walked away feeling low? Do you ever enter a room and feel an immediate urge to leave? 

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THE RISK OF USING PALM OIL

It doesn't help that I have 2 gallons of palm oil sitting in my soap kitchen. Everytime I read anything about Palm oil and the environment I get this urge to go and dump it all. Not such a bright idea considering I've already bought it and contributed to this mess. *sigh

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PIPELINE TO POLLUTION

I recently learned that a pipeline crossing Minnesota from Alberta Canada to Wisconsin is suppose to be put in this summer. This is EXTREMELY frustrating for those of us who believe we need to turn away from our dependency on oil and move in the direction of more renewable energy. What is wrong with a society when it continues to hold onto the old knowing that it isn't the best thing for us?? We are delaying the inevitable every moment we cling to our dependency on oil.

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DO YOU DRY BRUSH? YOU SHOULD.

If you haven't heard of dry brushing I really suggest you try it out. I've been dry brushing since my early 20's and it really does wonders for the skin. Not only do I notice improvement in my circulation but it makes my skin feel silky smooth. I find it best to do in the morning before my shower since it gives me that "wake up" feeling.

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LIVING GREEN

On Saturday I was really fortunate to sneak in some time at the Living Green Expo. This years goal was to find a local beekeeper where I could start getting my beeswax from. While I was there I picked up the LivGreen Magazine and they had some really fun recipes for children inside. Since I probably can't copy word for word what they have in the magazine I decided to search on the net for the equivalent.

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REIKI - HOW CAN IT HELP YOU?

Years ago, after learning about the benefits of Reiki from a woman sitting next to me at a Tibetan Film Festival in Minneapolis, I decided to become a practitioner. It took be several years to actually commit to doing it but I recently found the right teacher and have since taken my journey into the wonderful world of Reiki very seriously. 

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PALM OIL SUCCESSFULLY RESISTED

April 25, 2009
RELEASE: Major Victory for Ivory Coast's Rainforests as Oil Palm Successfully Resisted

Finally the oil palm scourge threatening primary rainforests and life giving ecosystems worldwide faces a setback as local protests are again successfully supported internationally by Ecological Internet, Rainforest Rescue and others.

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THE BEAUTY OF THE BACK YARD

My kids said I was probably one of the only people cutting down trees on Earth Day. They were traumatized. Planting new ones in their stead wasn't good enough for them, I had robbed the squirrels and birds of potential homes. I guess that was my momentary punishment for raising my kids to be environmentally conscious. LOL!

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SOAP BOX TUTORIAL

On top of being a soapmaker I love love love papercrafting. I'm a colors and creativity junkie (although I really can't color coordinate anything to save my own life - thank the God's for Stampin Up!) The more color and the more creative someone is, I'm totally there! I always google random things like "soap chunks" or "trifold cards" to see what cool things people are making. Yes, it can be quite addicting. My head and my eyes are hurting for it.

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS...

Pardon me while I vent a bit in hopes of helping someone else.

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DOES ANYONE LINE DRY THEIR CLOTHES ANYMORE??

Since I can remember, my mother would dry our clothes on the line. Even during the winter she'd hang them out on the porch and once they froze over she'd bring them in to thaw so we'd be able to wear them the next day. 

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CHECK OUT MY NEW CARDS

I finally finished a few cards. Working on these has kept me sane the past few weeks. Don't ya love how crafting can be almost meditative when ya need it.

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