Crumbs of Shadow : Mushroom Identification Class

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door. - Sylvia Plath

1. Sparassis: Cauliflower Mushroom; 2. Armillaria mellea: Honey Mushrrom; 3. Laetiporus: Chicken of the Woods; 4. Pleurotus: Oyster Mushroom

Kitchen Science : Fermentation

Product of fermentation class...learning by doing.  Homemade Sauerkraut.

Illuminating Fog

"Derive happiness in oneself from the illuminating fog that surrounds us" - Henri Mattise


Last night while working with a mac genius on a backup of my system, my computer went wonky and I lost, among other things, firefox. I had to reinstall it and in the process have lost ALL my bookmarks.


Hundreds of contacts/links...the best places to buy my supplies, educational links that I've been storing for Satch, as well as the links to all your blogs which I may never find again because I can't remember the addy's to all of them.

It has taken me years to build a system of files that were an invaluable source of information and now it's gone...information that has helped me help others. I feel as though I've just received a lobotomy...I feel empty and not in a good way.

My precious photos survived the back up and are on my LaCie, but the intricate filing system that I created that enabled me to find any one of my (over 7,000) photos is gone. The titles of photos are also gone and have reverted to the camera's original file name. So I have to find a way to create a new filing system. And I can't imagine how long it will take me to rebuild a system that took me 5 years to build....when the only free time I have is when my son is napping. This all happened at a time when I was ramping up to re-build my art business which has dwindled a tad since the birth of my boy because of lack of time.

That said, if any of you have links to share, please post them in this comment section. My interests are homeschool /educational links where I can find information on subjects in science, math, art etc. (So to be able to answer Satchel's questions correctly)

• links to your blogs and your faves, particularly crafty, artsy, momma blogs
• vegetarian links
• art/design links/crafty links
• green links
• and anything else that you feel might be of interest to me

I will be most grateful and try to rebuild . In the meantime, I will try to keep up my diary here on Mother Rising, but posting may be limited while I try to recover a wealth of information. Mom to Mom interviews are booked until October and are already cued up to post so they will still be on schedule. Our seasonal reading list will be posted on schedule (on or before the first day of the season). As for "Most Alive Monday", I can't promise anything today as my mind is in a complete fog. Thank you for understanding.

Lets Talk About Stuff, Baby!

Now that the holidays are over...can we talk about stuff?

The word consumer has always made me cringe...and with good reason. By definition it means to devour, destroy, use up, expend, waste! I don't want to be a consumer. I would rather be a conserver.

When my printer died in December of 2006, I called Epson and they offered me a "great deal" on a new one which I took because I was desperate, but it disturbed me. I called them back and gave them a piece of my mind about the wastefulness of it all and you know what? They sent me a shipping label, fixed my old printer and returned it looking and working mighty spiffy AND threw in a bag of new inks too...AND it was all done for FREE!

Until recently, I've been using the same corded phone for so long that I can't even tell you when it was purchased. It was only last week that I gave it away on freecycle because I received a used cordless phone from freecycle. As the mom of a toddler, I felt it was time to get a cordless so that receiving a call would not interrupt our play and I could put it on speaker-phone so Satch could be a part of the conversation. The phone looks like new, and works GREAT...even outside and on the third floor...AND it was free!

So why aren't more people buying refurbs, or used or freecycling? Call me crazy, but I'm guessing that if more people bought used goods or refurbished goods then the manufacturers would stop making junk that breaks. Hmmm! My friends can tell you that back in the 90's I was running my mouth off about what I called "forced obsolescence", but the actual terminology is....

Visit Story of Stuff Site for the entire scoop...there you will find the full length movie to watch or download for free as well as posters etc to help spread the truth!

Conserve or Consume....you have a choice!

The Great Fruit Mystery and Other Tales

We're leaving tomorrow to spend a few days at Chincoteague Island where we'll be building sandcastles, petting wild ponies, and searching for at least one letterbox. This will be Satchel's first trip to the sea and I can't wait to see the expression on his face when he realizes it's the biggest "ah-box" (sandbox) he's ever seen.

I'll be back Monday. In the meantime....a film and some linky links for you to enjoy! (PS- our most alive choice this week is to make Chincoteague a yearly summer tradition AND to coordinate it with the Perseids meteor shower).




Love It:

• "Five Ways to Make Childhood Last", by Karen Maezen Miller
• "Taking Advantage", by S. Krause
• "Long Post, No Pictures", by Katurah Richmond
• 
  

Love It Not:

• A new study shows the power of food marketing aimed at our children...see the Today Show clip here!
• And my friend Rochelle, a registered dietitian in NYC, told me about a video called, "Hidden Dangers in Kids' Meals" and suggested I see it....which I will try to find the time to do real soon!
  

Green

Satchel had his first popsicle. It was a lime fruitsicle. I wanted to make my own, but the mold that I have produces rather large and heavy ice pops so I searched for the most natural product I could find.

Satchel had his first popsicle. It was a lime fruitsicle. I wanted to make my own, but the mold that I have produces rather large and heavy ice pops so I searched for the most natural product I could find.



Edy's fruit bars are made with fruit juice. They make one type with sugar and one without (sweetened with Splenda). I chose the one with sugar because I would rather that Satch have a little sugar than some synthetic carcinogenic sweetener.

Later, when I spotted Satchel's tongue I gave the box another look and found that there were color additives...so the search continues.

In the meantime, I'm looking for a smaller mold so I can make my own pops from pure fruit juice.

Skin Deep

Below is a list of the safer sunscreens for your child as published on EWG's website. (click image to enlarge) According to EWG, there are no federal sunscreen safety standards in the U.S. And SPF ratings only cover UVB rays, which causes sunburn, but not the UVA rays, which raise skin cancer risk? In addition, they found that 84% of 783 sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun or contain ingredients with significant safety concerns. Click here to see the complete list of best and worst. I just learned that the brand I was using, "Coppertone Water Babies" has a health hazard index of 8! I'm going to switch to "California Baby", even though I think it's way overpriced.

Riding this Rock

Photo: my cousin Phil and me (in the not so distant past) perfecting our sandcastle skills on Fire Island.

I'm slowly making my way through a stack of books and still reading the wonderful Richard Louv book, "Last Child in the Woods". What makes this book so powerful to me is that it really sheds light on how different Satchel's world is from the one I grew up in. Even the very definition of nature as we know it is obscured by new technologies, i.e. grafting bacteria to microchips; and bioengineered animals (chimeras); and robots equipped with the brainstem of an eel.

When I was a kid, I climbed trees, rode horses and built sandcastles. I was a Girl Scout and camped out in tented platforms and rustic cabins where we cooked on fires, sang songs and told stories. Camping was camping then...in nature. There was no karate camp, computer camp or modeling camp. My birthdays were celebrated with family and friends at home not at Chucky Cheese's. There was no Nintendo, but I was never bored, I made puppets.

I feel very passionate about what Louv has to say. I related to him immediately when in the first few chapters he explained that he felt it was his duty as a father to protect his children from the brutality of the world for as long as humanly possible. I, too, feel strongly about this...providing Satch with a foundation of beauty, truth and wonder while shielding him from negativity, commercialism, ugliness! I believe in the importance of understanding what you are eating and how it gets to the table so to be able to make informed choices. I also believe that a connection to nature is as important as oxygen and agree that today's kids do indeed seem distracted. I think it's because we have lost our balance. Don't get me wrong I LOVE technology! I love my customized google home page which brings me the latest headlines from "Art Forum", "Life Hacker", "Science Times", and "SCIAM" (not to mention some swell vegetarian recipes) so that I don't have to go looking for them. I love my personalized firefox location bar with drop-downs for my favorite haunts. I love one click navigation , RSS feeds, my mac, my digital camera, photoshop, and music downloads. These things save me time, make my world a little easier, and a whole lot of fun.

Still, I felt a great sense of pride when, during my Mom's visit, Satch wanted to pick a mint leaf...that he KNOWS the difference between a mint plant and a tomato plant. I think it's important to understand these things, to recognize the difference between a Wren and a Warbler, to figure out what species of insect I squashed in the kitchen. I think it's vital to know the world around me...I don't want to ride this rock unaware.

It is difficult to put this book down though it is taking me some time to read due to the confines of mamahood, but I feel like I have discovered another kindred spirit.

What I'm wondering is, how do we do it? How do we save our children from the clutches of Ronald McDonalds and Super Marios?

These were the thoughts that crossed my mind while Satch napped and a powerful storm rolled in. The sky grew so dark that my sun jars began to glow. A mixture of rain and hail pelted the windows and sky light. Satch slept through some of the loudest thunder I had ever heard. When the storm passed, steam rose from trail in a ghostly mist. The Cardinal couple returned to the feeder and I watched the male feed the female. (This is called mate feeding) The "monk",
standing sentinel in our garden, does not allow the birds to ground-feed. He chases them right out of the garden, especially the Blue Jays. It's the funniest thing to watch.

On that note, let me leave you with something beautiful (The music is J.S. Bach's Sarabande from Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: IV. Performed by Yoyo Ma). Have a good weekend, everyone!

Worth

*Further proof that I'm the luckiest person on earth...
Satch and I took his bike on the trail to make sure the "Bee Charmer" was still there. I could see the little handle that I made hanging from the tree hollow. Then as I looked down, right there at my feet was a set of butterfly wings that once belonged to a Black Swallow Tail.... just wings...REAL butterfly wings! I took a scan of them, but it doesn't do them justice.

*Feel free to rip the jpeg from this blog, cut them out and use them for your art. (click on photo to view larger)

Then I discovered during Satchel's nap that there is a wendyful love-fest going on over at the Whole Self!

and then THIS article...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research released on Wednesday. The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said. The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime. A mother who holds full-time job outside the home would earn an additional $85,939 for the work she does at home. (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst)

To quote Fred, "I'll be back when the week is new" because tomorrow we're taking Satch to the kinetic sculpture race and meeting up with the amazing and talented poet, Shelley of But Wait, There's More! And if that isn't awesome enough...Julie of Self-Definition is visiting us on Sunday!

• listening
• reading
• watching (The first tv show I've watched in 2 years. They hooked me with the line,"Be careful where you walk, history's afoot")

Have a great weekend everyone!
*Those who know me would agree that my list of reasons why I am the luckiest person on earth is innumerable. (and the fact that I have such a long list is yet another reason)

Weekend Goodliness

We found another letterbox...in a store....and picked up our first "hitch hiker". I received an email from the placer of the missing "whale box" (see previous letterboxing posts) and it was found in a nearby trash can then re-hidden. I placed the "hitch hiker in the "whale box" along with a cd of whale songs. (Thanks, Nina, for my new obsession) I will soon be designing my own letterbox to hide. (Details on that soon)

In the meantime, I finished these journal commisions which will be published in the summer issue of, "Artitude"! The article will be a short tutorial on how I made the books as well as an interpretation of the imagery.

Did a little gardening (Robert calls this "dirt therapy")...I planted some native and not so native plants. I found some wild mint, fern and violets...separated the tubers (and rhizomes), took a few offspring while leaving the main plant intact and planted some of them in back of our nest.
We are also working on a container herb garden for the front stoop...just a few of my faves and most used herbs: basil, chives, cilantro and more mint (mmmm...mint for iced tea and cucumber raita)

Picked up a copy of SARK's new book, listening to the new Feist album, waiting not-so-patiently for the release of Volta and looking forward to a visit from Julie this weekend! (her birthday is friday)

Oh, and here's a find: Satch is wild about these mini organic blueberry waffles. They are delicious and cute...about the size of a half dollar!

How Cool is THAT!

Free ice cream today....

Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day! TODAY, all of the Ben & Jerry’s stores worldwide offer free cones, with no limit!!!

There are often long lines, and popular flavors run out early.

Find Out More: Click here for stores.

"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while it's on your plate" ~ Thornton Wilder

Hot Off the Press...

News Release from The Environmental Working Group

When Should You Buy Organic?

Free Guide Ranks Pesticide Contamination
of Fruits and Vegetables

WASHINGTON — If you're concerned about food safety, you probably already look for organic produce at the supermarket. But if you can't always buy organic, you can still dramatically lower your family's exposure to chemical pesticides by choosing the least pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables with the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

The Shopper's Guide is a handy, wallet-size card that lists the "Dirty Dozen" most contaminated fruits and vegetables, as well as the 12 most "Consistently Clean" items. It's available for free download at www.foodnews.org.

Lead in Lunch Boxes

I read recently that the FDA issued a letter to manufacturers of vinyl lunchboxes concerning the presence of lead which can be transferred to your child's food or hands after touching the lunchbox interior.

Here's a link to various news reports regarding lunchboxes containing lead.
And here's how you can have your child's lunch box tested!

Food For Thought

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals
as they now look on the murder of men." - Leonardo da Vinci

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein

"All beings tremble before violence. All fear death, all love life" ~Buddha

"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." ~Hippocrates

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings" ~Leo Tolstoy

"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being." - Abraham Lincoln

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages." -Thomas Edison

"Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends." ~George Bernard Shaw

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." ~Paul McCartney