Demeter's Garden

I hate that question. People assume that if you are a vegetarian, you don’t get enough protein. Clearly, one look at my tummy should tell you that the only thing I’m not getting enough of these days is cardio. If you have concerned folks in your life wondering about your protein intake, check out this list of the vegetarian sources of all sorts of different nutrients. Actually, the interesting one is B12, because it is found primarily in animal products. I can always tell when someone knows a little something about vegetarianism, because they will ask about B12 instead of protein!

Remember though, while some people might be trying to harass you by asking about your protein intake, your mom and your auntie Edna are just worried about you. It might be annoying to answer the same question every Thanksgiving, but it’s just out of love that they ask!

Check out this beautiful website with pictures of different types of gemstones and their traditional healing properties. I’ve always loved looking at pictures of different gems. When i was a kid, I always checked out the same book about beading from the library just to look at the different colors of gems and glass beads. This site really shows the variety of beautiful stones in nature.

“She nearly stopped forever just outside Ashton, because she came to a tiny cottage buried in a garden. I could live there all alone, she thought, slowing the car to look down the winding garden path to the small blue front door with, perfectly, a white cat on the step. No one would ever find me there, either, behind all those roses, and just to make sure I would plant oleanders by the road. I will light a fire in the cool evenings and toast apples at my own hearth. I will raise white cats and sew white curtains and sometimes come out of my door to go to the store to buy cinnamon and tea and thread. People will come to me to have their fortunes told, and I will brew love potions for sad maidens; I will have a robin…”

-From The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

I’ve often wondered about the possibility of a sort of reverse mission trip. Instead of going to save the souls of the third world, what if we did something to help them keep their traditions alive? It’s a strange idea, and in most cases the best way to help would be to stay out of the way. I came across this story about an Austrian woman who became interested in the old traditions of the Yoruba in Africa. She eventually moved to Nigeria and helped preserve the old ways in the face of Christian and Muslim missionaries, who have been calling the old ways evil for many years. Now her adopted son, who never went to school because it was run by Christians, wants to open a school where children can get an education without being converted. I think that was my favorite part of the story actually. Much too often, I think that the old religions are associated with being primitive, whereas the “major” religions are a sign of being civilized. I think we’ve gotten to a point where people can have a modern lifestyle and traditional beliefs at the same time. Check out Wikipedia for more info about the Yoruba religion.

Did you know you can recycle old crayons, and they become new crayons?  Did you know that you can take your old iPod into an Apple store, they’ll recycle it, and they will give you 10% off your new iPod? I love recycling. I love the whole *idea* of recycling. Maybe it’s because I’m so darn frugal, I hate the idea that as a society we waste perfectly good stuff. I think a lot of people in the environmental movement have realized that we have to start thinking of trash as a resource rather than something to just dump in a hole in the ground. A lot of people want to recycle, but they don’t know exactly what is recyclable. So I love this guide from Real Simple of How to Recycle Anything. (via TipNut)

Now that you know what can be recycled, you need a place to take it! Try RecyclingCenters.org to find one near you. You can also check with your local government (city, township, or county, depending on who is in charge of your trash pick up) to see if curbside recycling is available. I live in a condo and our complex doesn’t have recycling pick up, so I take my recyclables to my mom’s house. The recycling bank takes a larger variety of stuff than curbside pickup, but the center burned down a few months ago. I can’t wait until they open up again!

Philo, found via Petfinder.com

You already know about Petfinder.com, right? You know that Petfinder allows you to search for adoptable pets in your area, right? I bet you also know that you can limit your search by species, breed, age, gender, or size. In case you didn’t know, I’m telling you! I found both of my cats via Petfinder. They were both from litters of kittens that were being adopted out of vet’s offices. Had I not searched Petfinder, I wouldn’t have met either of them. Petfinder lets you find exactly the pet you want, without buying from a pet store. So, I don’t want to hear any noise like “Oh, I want (insert breed here) so I’m going to a pet store/breeder” because Petfinder lets you search your local shelters for exactly the pet you’re looking for. Every time you adopt a homeless pet, you save a life. Even if the pet is at a no-kill shelter, adopting it makes room for another pet that might otherwise go to the pound. Don’t forget to visit their partner site at The Animal Rescue Site to help feed animals in shelters.

Hobbits. Ewoks. Tumnus. Elves. The seven dwarves.

What do they all have in common? Adorable woodland houses! I’ve always wanted to live in a little enchanted cabin in the woods. I’d like something out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, perhaps, or maybe The Lord of the Rings. So when I saw this house, naturally I had to learn more.  This is a house in Britain that is not only beautiful, but very eco-friendly.  It has reclaimed wood floors, solar panels to provide electricity and a compost toilet! This type of building has a lot less impact on the environment around it. If all that wasn’t enough, it’s also a much more affordable way to build a house. It’s green, it’s right out of a fantasy movie, AND it’s affordable; it’s my dream house! Check out the website for lots more pictures and info about the building materials and pictures of other back-to-nature homes.

Tanglewood Farms

Originally uploaded by Maria Rittenhouse

These are miniature goats, at a farm in Canton, GA. They are really sweet little creatures!