Oranges
by Catherine Haug, February 9, 2013 (image of hybrid Indian oranges from Wikipedia)
To see all kitchen hints on this site, see: Kitchen Hints. If you’d like to submit a kitchen hint, send it to me and I’ll publish it. Note that if you don’t want your name used, just let me know.
The following hint comes from Kassandra, a new member of our community. She may do an upcoming presentation on homemade skin care and/or homemade cleaning products, so stay tuned. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, February 9, 2013
Ever since I learned how to make plastic in college organic chemistry class; ever since Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin was advised , “One word:…Plastics” in The Graduate, I’ve been cautious about my use of, and exposure to plastic. It hasn’t been easy. Plastics are everywhere, and very beguiling.
They are in our carpets and rugs; our toothbrushes; shopping bags; food storage containers and wrap; food; blankets, sheets, and towels; purses, wallets, backpacks, lunch boxes; grocery bags; milk jugs, pop bottles, liquor bottles; dishes and drinking glasses; eyewear; wigs; yard tools, lawn mowers, leaf blowers; automobiles; shoes and boots; clothing and decorator fabric; furniture; building materials; water and sewer pipes; appliances; wall paint; picnic supplies; children’s toys; bicycles; sewing machines and supplies; thread, yarn, string, rope; electrical wiring; playground equipment; landscaping materials. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
It seems we cannot do without them. But……life as we know it cannot last much longer, with them. They pollute our oceans; kill our seafood and disrupt the sea food chain. They pollute our groundwater and the soil that grows our foods. They disrupt our hormones – especially in the womb – so that many children will grow up to be sterile. They affect gene expression.
Plastics require a lot of energy – fossil fuel energy – to be made from precious petroleum or foods like corn and soy. There is only so much fossil fuels on the planet, and plastics are chewing up more than half of our annual fuel consumption, when you consider the raw materials and fuels to make them, fuels to transport them, fuels to haul them to the dump and bury them there.
View the free 90-minute film on YouTube: Addicted To Plastic- Documentary.
Then read on for some suggestions to minimize our use of plastics. And send me your reuse/repurpose plastic ideas for publication on this website. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, February 3, 2013
As a kid, I used to follow my Dad around the house and yard, watching (and little did I know, learning) what he did. My Dad was in his 60s; when he retired, he became the homemaker and my Mom became the provider, managing our bar. Having been a bachelor until 1946 (he was 55), he only knew homemaking the old-fashioned way that he had learned from his Victorian-era parents.
It turns out, these were things that made for a rich and healthful life, and if we would return to at least some of these old-fashioned ways, our lives would be richer and more healthful, according to Dr. Alexandra Carrasco. Read on for more. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, Feb 1, 2013, from Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT)
BERT Mission: Raising awareness and planning for emergencies in the Bigfork, Montana area.
by Catherine Haug, November 6, 2012 [Cat’s note, 1/27/13: I just realized I’d not published this summary; my apologies!]
The Daily InterLake had a good article about our presenter, Sean Guerrero, in its Nov. 3, 2012 issue, which I have copied in its entirety below. It pretty much covers what Sean discussed at his presentation. However, those who didn’t come, missed his telling of many stories about his interaction with the Hollywood people who commissioned his art. Sean is an entertaining story teller!
See One man’s junk is artist Sean Guerrero’s treasure in the Daily InterLake, Saturday Nov 3, 2012. Text copied below (in case the DIL deletes the article from its internet site). (more…)
by Catherine Haug, January 7, 2012
In researching additional info for yesterday’s Kitchen Hint, I stumbled across a blog with lots of great ideas and information on repurposing – using/reusing an old or familiar item in a new way. Repurposing (and it’s close cousin ‘upcycling’) is the second choice on the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle icon.
Check it out at Repurposeful blog. Here are a few ideas from their archives that caught my eye:
