The Story of Stuff...

Medicine Wheel Gardens

I'm currently reading The Medicine Wheel Garden by E. Barrie Kavasch

"A medicine wheel is a central circle, spiral or cairn of stones from which lines of other stones radiate, often as "spokes" to an outer circle of stones. Since ancient times, American Indians have created many such arrangements of stones and held them sacred. Planted with healing herbs, the sacred space of a medicine wheel can also become a special kind of garden: a private ecosystem and a small sanctuary for the birds, butterflies, ad animals whose natural wild spaces are at risk. Or the medicine wheel can take a larger form as a unique community area or even an outdoor classroom.

Medicine Wheel Architecture

Whatever its size, start at one side of your site and pace to other in a straight line, counting your footsteps. Turn around and follow your footsteps back, stopping when your count reaches the midpoint. If you have taken fifty steps, for example, stop at twenty-five. That is the center of your medicine wheel. Mark this spot by sinking a short temporary pole in the ground.

The Stone center, outer circle, and directional cross of a medicine wheel garden give with sacred space its basic form. Some of the herbs you will plant will be colourful and grow quite tall, but they should always be arranged so that the stone architecture remains clearly seen.

Tie one end of a long, strong cord around the pole. Holding the cord, pace from the center to the edge of your site (twenty-five steps in our example). Stretch the cord taut and tie a knot in it to establish your distance from the center. Now hold the cord at your knot, keeping it stretched taut, and begin walking in a circle around the center pole. As you walk, place a fist-sized stone or anchor a stake ever few feet in your path. "

Authentic Lasagna Sauce

This is incredibly good. It's cooked down from a sauce to a paste for an hour and a half. I generally layer eggplant or zucchini and a couple of different types of cheeses (including a whisked egg with ricotta cheese for the center layers).


2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, peel and thinly sliced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 c sliced black olives
2-28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1-14 oz can of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp toasted fennel seeds or asian 5 star spice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp brandy (optional)

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion, celery and red pepper and saute for 5 mins. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add balsamic. Stir in and reduce for 2-3 mins. Add olives and sundried tomatoes. Add canned tomatoes, sugar and wine. Stir in basil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Let simmer for one and a half hours, until sauce is reduced to near paste. Add lemon juice and brandy and let sit for 3 minutes.

Kolrabi

I harvested nine purple kolrabi from my vegetable garden this year. It's an interesting looking vegetable, but rather dull to prepare. These edible swollen stems are about the size of a softball and taste similar to a turnip or radish, but family to the cabbage. I've been considering making kolrabi kimchi. I recently purchased daikon radish kimchi from the farmers market. It's so delicous and has a similar texture and flavour to the kolrabi. I've brined and pickled a couple kolrabi, mashed a few and have 6 sitting on top of my fridge.

Haruki Marakami

This man is a genius. His books always manage to communicate those most subtle human feelings in the most straightforward way. The female characters are written with such wit, quirkiness, honesty and realism. Mr. Marakami made me enjoy reading!

I just learned that Norwegian Wood has been made into a movie and will be released in December 2010. Fun!

A Wild Sheep Chase
The Wind up Bird Chronicle
Kaftka on the Shore
Sputnik Sweetheart
Dance Dance Dance
Norwegian Wood
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
After Dark
South of the Border, West of the Sun
Pinball, 1973
Hear the Wind Sing
Tokyo Mysterious Story Collection
IQ84

(I've read the ones in bold)

Dr. Mist and Saywards Homemade Deo

I've been experimenting with deodorants over the last years. I started making my own several months back. I tried rubbing alcohol or witch hazel in a spray bottle (worked pretty well, but not for the long haul). The best homemade deodorant recipe that I found was off this website. http://bonzaiaphrodite.com

Sayward’s Homemade Deodorant Recipe

1/3 cup Corn Starch
1/3 cup Baking Soda
10 drops of Antibacterial Essential Oil (tea tree, lavender, or eucalyptus)
10 drops of Antifungal Essential Oil (tea tree, peppermint, sandalwood, or eucalyptus)
2 tablespoons Vitamin E Oil
3 tablespoons Coconut Oil
Mix everything up in a bowl until it forms a thick paste. Transfer to your storage container and then allow 24 hours to ’set up’. I used an old deodorant container ’cause it looks so cute and I thought it was neat, but I don’t recommend it. In the future I’ll be using a shallow, wide-mouthed jar, applying the deo with my fingertips.

I ran out of homemade deodorant recently and went to the superstore for a quick fix. I pushed past the highly fragrant and carcinogenic anti-perspirants and came across Dr. Mist. An all natural deodorant that boasts NO ALUMINUM, NO OILS, NO FRAGRANCE, NO ALCOHOL, NO Coloring AND IS 100% STAIN FREE! Dr. Mist kills body odor for up to 3 days even if bathing is not possible and works on even the most sensitive skin. But, the most intriguing part is that it won the 29th Geneva International Invention and Innovation Award. What? Why? So intrigued. The only ingredients are filtered water, sodium, calcium and magnesium. The inspiration for this spray was the minerals from the dead sea. It seems all brilliance is inspired from nature. It seems to be going quite well so far.

Agua

(Stefani terracotta water purifier)

There are six types of contaminants you want to remove from municipal tap water:

1. Chlorine and chloramines
2. Volatile Organic Compounds (pesticides, herbicides, etc.)
3. Heavy metals (Lead, Mercury, Aluminum, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper)
4. Bacterial and viruses (Giardia and Cryptosporidium)
5. General Sediment
6. Fluoride