Like so many of us, I've been grappling with how to feel about the state of things most especially these past few weeks. Becoming overwhelmed by anger or spiraling into a state of despair are tempting but ill-advised options when there are daughters to fight for...sons...friends...sisters...fellow humans too. The patriarchy has never so clearly been revealed as the enemy in my awareness as it is right now. This week a man with a lot of power said, "It's a very scary time for young men in America." What an even more scary time it is for young women then. When we identify more with the aggressors than with the victims in any given situation...whether we are thinking of police shootings, systemic racism, white supremacy, rape or assault...we need to question our alignment + motives. (Yep, I understand that he's identifying with who he sees as the (raging) victim...but in this situation that completely ignores the credibility + suffering of Christine Blasey Ford.)

My heart breaks for girls + boys who's perceptions of trust + entitlement are shaken + broken not only by their personal circumstances, but by the news from the very highest positions of power! The messaging is not subtle. You won't be believed. You have to have proof...but only if you are the victim. We don't want to disrupt a white, middle to upper class boy's life. You must have worn the wrong thing, said the wrong thing, drank too much. You can get away with it. Boys will be boys + girls will be trash. Further objectification (rather than the valuing of human worth + enduring love) will be the result. I wonder how to fight it. How do I keep cynicism from taking over the developing minds in my care? How do I nurture hope + compassion in the face of such disregard for all things female?

We give what we do not always get from others.

At the very least women can believe women. We can vote for women. We can run for office or encourage our female friends to do so. We can advocate for women. We can cheer for + support women who make the same decisions as us + for those who make different decisions for themselves. We can love + champion working mamas + work-at-home mamas + single mamas + women who aren't mamas + women who want to be mamas + differently abled women + refugee mamas + immigrant mamas + incarcerated mamas + addicted mamas + sick mamas + pregnant mamas + gay women + dying women + minimum wage earning mamas + poor girls + rich girls + bullied girls + enslaved women + transgender women + raped women + assaulted women + battered women + homeless women + Muslim women + Hindu girls + abandoned girls + orphaned girls + uneducated girls + hungry girls + all of the other kinds of women + girls! We can see girls + women apart from their labels + enveloped in their inherent value. We can raise sons who value girls and stand up with + for girls. We can welcome the men who join us. I have hope, because I know women have great strength + intelligence + creativity + endurance + kindness + love + will + grit. I have hope because I know my daughters.

Love,
Jane

P.S. (10/5/18) This is a great listen.

I was able to read Shia Su's Zero Waste as well as Alison Roman's Dining In this week. (I love our library!) Dining In is full of simple, delicious inspiration. It is not a zero-waste book necessarily, but the recipes are quite zero-waste friendly. It's interesting to see a new crop of zero-waste books coming out + the perspective of each author coming through. A few more include:
-Waste Not
​-Zero Waste Adventure
​-Soon to be released Sustainable Home
-The original: Zero-Waste Home

What are you reading this weekend?

Love, 
Jane

Contentment is a quiet acceptance, a peacefulness, a calm amid the endless wanting. When I choose contentment, there's no competition with anyone. The race to keep up simply disappears. Once I realized this, I gave myself permission to see and accept things as they were-- myself included. No constant striving meant the person, place, experience, or relationship was enough. Right here, right now, it's enough.

I still crave change. I still work toward improvement. Contentment simply brings slowness to those changes. It brings quality, not quantity. Depth, not superficiality. It brings peace.
                        ~Brook McAlary in Slow :: simple living for a frantic world

These little garden grown gems...cut in half...tossed with a little olive oil + salt...slow roasted...become the most flavorful part of a variety of meals. This time they topped our pasta + cheese + chickpeas + lemon + cracked pepper plate. (Some CSA onions were added to the roasting pan. The heat was at 325F for about an hour + then turned up to 350F while the pasta cooked to hurry them along.) Yum!

On the reading front, I am reading a book my girls love + often recommend to reluctant readers (Jo is a youth librarian) + friends: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. School starts on Monday (Julia homeschools), so preparing for that has occupied the bulk of my "book time" lately.  :)

How to be happy.
Some good clean recipes whether a reset is in order or not.
Zero-waste travel.
Wise words.
Justice, compassion + truth.
Living low-waste + plant based.
Food court with no trash cans.

Much love + wishes for a very happy weekend, friends-
Jane

Read Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames in a weekend. One point of view. Food for thought.
Had the chance to read an advanced copy of The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown. A great way to put the progression of events together for + in front of all of us...including younger readers.
Finally read The Giver by Lois Lowry at my girls' urging. So much to think about + discuss.
Reading Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans.

YES! YES! YES!
This is how it starts...
There's no longer a place for a retailer trying to sell a reasonable amount of clothes at healthy margins.
​More positive news.
Expanded size offerings.

Mentioned Caliphate this week...but just in case it was missed...so good.
Also really enjoyed this chat with one of the original (to me) fair brand founders.

Have a lovely (cool) weekend!  :)
​
Love,
Jane

Enjoying our Avocado Organic Mattress while the sheets are in the laundry. Organic cotton...wool (vegan option available)...natural latex...recycled steel springs...made in the USA to order. We've been sleeping on it for a couple of months now + love it! 

This morning's reading involved these words. 

Scrap exchange program.
​A podcast about love.
Wanna make some Birkenstocks?
A simple, lovely wedding.
​On fountain pens.
Happy tiny house family.
The visuals are just so lovely.
Art x motherhood.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!
Love,
Jane

The strawberries are rolling in from our garden!

I've been letting my girls choose (at least part of) my reading list this summer + I'm getting to read some good books that I wouldn't have chosen otherwise...and we're getting to have some good conversations too.  :) My first two books were Ready to Fall by Marcella Pixley + Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (along with something substantial to blow my nose on).

"It wasn't lack of space for stuff, it was out of respect for the stuff we say is important enough to have in our lives."
​
"I think I use recycled materials, because it doesn't make sense not to do it."

"Because this should always be our response to life- a celebration."

A connection between female-run indie fashion labels + moves toward sustainability?

hedonic adaptation

600 square feet + a place for everything (including lots of fun!)

​"just need permission from themselves"

Have a glorious weekend, friends!!

Love,
Jane

This week brought our first CSA box of the year...and our first taste of nettle tea. (Julia called it refreshing + I agree!)  Our farmer friend is a big fan of nettles + has told me about cooking with them for years. I've been a bit turned off, since my girls chased a ball into a bush of stinging nettles in London + received terrible itchy welts. Luckily our neighbor, a biology teacher, went with them to look for a plant that often grows near nettles + sure enough found some dock leaves that when rubbed on the rash soothed it right away. Oh nature, you are so amazing!

Nettles are a real powerhouse, rich in vitamins A, C, D, iron, potassium, manganese + calcium...and are also packed with protein. Once nettles are boiled they are no longer stinging...so I boiled them...kept the water as tea...and used the nettles in an omelet along with some other greens. Yum!

​Zero-waste + the beauty industry.
Another step in the right direction for plastic packaging.
​"Prisoners of their own clutter".
​Looking forward to this new book!
"Once you get over the initial fear of looking like a weirdo, it's simple."

Hope you are enjoying some sunshine + a warm breeze this weekend!

Love,
​Jane