a lip balm tube is a tiny thing...an oh, so useful thing...an often non-recyclable thing.  so i wanted to make some zero-waste lip balm.  there are lots of lip balm recipes out there...lots of recipes with lots of ingredients.  i have a hard time justifying making products that require me to buy more jars and cans of ingredients than the one jar of finished product that i could have just bought in the first place.  i wanted to make some lip balm and use what i already had.

after reading a number of recipes, i came to the conclusion that most of them used some combination of beeswax and oils as the main ingredients.  i had coconut oil and sweet almond oil (that i'd used as a face oil) already, and i'd wanted to buy some more beeswax for candles anyway.  

here's my simple recipe to add to the giant pile already out there:

might it be better if, instead of treating the world as one big shopping mall, we found a way to treat it as one massive public library?  ~colin beaven (no impact man)-  how to be alive

also:
​the trailer.
a paper is great.  a radish is better.
zero-waste aspirations.
less, better.
​decluttering isn't the end.
keep smilin' and dancin' with this one.

happy weekending, friends!

love,
jane

there are two ways to get enough:  
one is to accumulate more and more.  
the other is to desire less.  
​~g.k. chesterton

during these cold months, i have let my resolve to get out there and exercise wane.  last week, i decided to make it my goal to walk a shorter distance than usual for seven days in a row.  since my main goal is to get out the door consistently, i chose to focus on the shorter distance.  i hope to override my laziness with the notion that it is no big deal to meet this simple challenge.

on the second day of walking, my very goal oriented daughter asked me what my goal would be after the seven days.  i said that i hadn't thought that far ahead yet and was simply trying to focus on this goal first.  ...but that i hoped that after seven days i would appreciate walking so much that i would want to keep doing it every day.  hopefully my homebound muscles will have remembered what it feels like to move and will be ready to take on more distance and intensity.  my mind and spirit will have benefitted from experiencing these little God-gifts each day (because there really is beauty in every season).  and yes, i will set a new goal with the confidence that i can meet my goals...having done so once already.

i'm working on a habit boost...slow and steady...body, mind, and soul.  

love,
jane

here is an exciting opportunity to help spread sustainable hygiene and health education to girls across the globe!  days for girls is an organization that provides girls around the world with supplies for those days of the month that otherwise cause them to miss school.  the kits given are lovely, last for three years, and are accompanied by an increase in education, dignity, and economic potential.  days for girls have listened to women and considered every aspect of this issue including a way to wash the pads with minimal water (in a ziploc bag) and to dry them discreetly.  

we can be a part of this mission by donating supplies like soap, ziploc bags (what a great use for these lingering ziplocs i no longer use), panties, washcloths or monetary gifts.  i wanted to highlight them here, as a way to be generous and possibly use some stash/leftover fabrics you might have already if you sew. understandably, days for girls emphasizes the requirement that the supplies be beautiful...and not just an outlet for unattractive leftovers (not that we own any of those, right).  :)  patterns and instructions for drawstring bags and pads are available on their website.  days for girls will accept any part of the kits and does not require that fully assembled kits be donated.  

i love the compassion, intention, and mission these heroes have put into action!

love,
jane

   march

​the sun is nervous
   as a kite
that can't quite keep
   its own string tight.

some days are fair,
   and some are raw.
the timid earth
   decides to thaw.

shy budlets peep
   from twigs on trees,
and robins join
   the chickadees.

pale crocuses
   poke through the ground
like noses come
   to sniff around.

the mud smells happy
   on our shoes.
we still wear mittens,
   which we lose.

~john updike