A Tangible Gift.

I have a friend I have never met.

Today, the above statement makes sense, where once, this would easily been assumed to be the beginning of a riddle.  The days of Facebook sure have changed things.  Today, lots of people can make that statement and be completely serious.

Now, of course one could argue that these are not true "friends"...and I support anyone's assertion that they should be careful with how the toss around the word "friend"...because it is true, there is a difference between people you know and those who you can claim are your friends.

When I read on Facebook that my "friend" is fighting to survive her cancer, and in some considerable pain, I immediately asked myself many personal questions.  I am not sure what to do for her.  I have not been sure what to do for anyone I have ever met that has been handed the path of cancer treatment.  I stopped to send her a message...tried to keep it above the horizon and carefully considered.  But I can't stop feeling like this is not enough.

In real life, here, in my life...my response to a close "friend" in this position would be quite different.  When someone close to me lost their mother, I wound up cooking and doing dishes and the occasional laundry.  What about a "friend" I have never met?  Are kind words enough?  Is that what a friend would do?

My answer to this came to me when I logged on to Kickstarter.com to check on what needs a helping hand in our world.  I usually share garden or urban farm projects when I find them....and certainly promote them to all my people...and have made a habit of checking Kickstarter for these kinds of projects regularly.  The first I found was based in London.  I was thrilled at the irony and the symbolism of this find:




My friend Brenda, fighting for her life in a hospital, lives in the United Kingdom.  Her and I have often shared photos and discussed our love of the famous gardens of England.  I have even offered her my couch if ever she wished to visit Alaska.

I wish to make sure that good things grow in her backyard.  I wish for the world near her to be a better place.  I want her kids and grandchildren to enjoy a brave new world.  How awesome that my funding a tiny little garden can be a tangible gift of change in honor of a great lady!

Then I found one in the neighborhood of my awesome Uncle Donald (more about him in HIS OWN post...lol!)...and funny, he called just today to chat about becoming a DJ after all these years!  I hope he gets a great salad out of this someday:



Love you Uncle (Alaska Don) Donald Thomas!

$aving Change.

I snicker to myself a little bit as I gave this entry a title.  Everyone likes to "save some change" in regards to quarters, dimes, nickels, etc.  Or you could be a stickler for "saving your changes" as you craft a document.  One could also look at "change" as a concept that though constant, must be cognitively driven to be a positive thing.  In my estimation, it stands to reason that "change" that is taking place, if not for the best results, could or maybe should, be "saved" from taking place in a negative way.  So maybe this double meaning is funny and metaphorical...but I am literally talking about better navigating in the world we currently find ourselves in...the world of currency.

I was told once that millionaires clip coupons.  This seems so cliche to me for some reason.  I literally could NOT fathom the mental image I tried to conceive of becoming a millionaire and one day telling the New York Times lifestyles writer that it was all due to my coupon clipping.  Get real!

The truth is...dealing with money is a responsibility.  Preventing the unnecessary hemorrhage of cash (which is nothing more than a resource) is the most key thing one can do to be wise with their money.  Confucius probably said (or should have), "a man can't keep water if there is a hole in the bucket".  And all the media out there says "BUY THIS!"....so the opportunities to leak will always be around.  Let's not talk about the result that unbridled consumerism is having on the face of our planet...or is that what I am doing here? :)

OK.  So...save money AND the planet.  Clean your kitchen and bathroom with stuff that while effective, doesn't cost much and is stuff that our planet can, in fact, handle.

THE POWDER:

Source: contagiouschange.blogspot.com via Allison on Pinterest

Mix equal parts:

• Baking Soda
• Washing Soda
• Borax
• Oxyclean (optional, and best UNscented)

With 1 TBSP.:

• Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Scour Powder (any scent you like)

THE GLASS/SURFACE CLEANER:

Lots orange peels (and/or lime, lemon, grapefruit for a blend)

Two cinnamon sticks

Two vanilla beans

Bottle of white vinegar

Two canning jars

Spray bottle

Mix the peels with the cinnamon and vanilla in the canning jars and cover with vinegar...let sit for a month +, shaking when you remember...or more often if you set reminders. 

Having found a few links...this recipe (http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-orange-peel-white-vinegar-coop.html) is my favorite...but I encourage everyone to check out these as well...

http://stepintoourgarden.com/orange-peel-vinegar/

http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/orange-peel-vinegar-cleaner-green-cleaner/#.UTE-XDB_CSo

MY FAVORITE SECRET!

LEMON JUICE is the BEST stainless steel/chrome resurfacing agent I have EVER seen.  I keep it in a spray bottle under the sink in the kitchen.  The one I keep in the bathroom loosens the grime on the shower wall so I just have to dust it with scour powder, wipe it down, then give it a good rinse....very little effort.

For all you could want to know about lemon in one place....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon

THE LAUNDRY MIRACLE:

I found this formula on Pinterest and holy wow!  I LOVE IT!

You can find recipe instructions on this fabulous blog resource:

http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html

I highly recommend bookmarking this one!