How to save (another) bundle on yogurt

by Kathy on January 23, 2012

in Food

Just got through watching a cheery (not!) episode of Bill Moyers’ new show on PBS and was reminded once again of how precarious our collective economic situation continues to be. Both his guests – Pres. Reagan’s former budget guru David Stockman and journalist Gretchen Morgenson – stated that because no meaningful regulation has been put in place to prevent it, a repeat of the 2008 economic crash is virtually inevitable, probably within the next ten years. Sigh. How do you get ready? How do we ensure that we don’t get caught with our drawers down again? Well, aside from becoming a [...]

Tagged as: DIY, Food, Frugality, grocery shopping

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Big Brother really is watching

by Kathy January 20, 2012 Miscellaneous

After I blogged about the corporate ownership of my Congress Critters the other day, I kinda got a kick out of the fact that White Pines Whisper was visited by somebody at the House of Representatives, apparently checking out what I’d said about Richard Hanna, my “representative” in the House. So far, no sign of any visits from Gillibrand’s or Schumer’s staff. Darn! Check out the screen shot (click to enlarge).   Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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How to save a bundle on flavor

by Kathy January 19, 2012 "Unstuffing" & Money

As a gardener, I’m getting used to growing herbs and I have to admit I’m still not sure of the ideal ways to harvest and store them. Mostly on an experimental basis (which is an ongoing thing when you garden anyway) last fall, I cut a parsley plant off at the base, tied some twine around it and hung it upsidedown in an area that gets plenty of ventilation and warm air from a furnace vent. I left it there several weeks until the leaves were crispy-dry, stripped the leaves from the stems and stored the parsley in glass jars. [...]

Tagged as: Buy local, consumerism, environment, Food, Frugality, grocery shopping

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What’s in your elected representatives’ wallets?

by Kathy January 17, 2012 Miscellaneous

Today is #J17 – the day Congress gets Occupied. Even as I try to live simply and more sustainably by consuming less and being more self-reliant, I believe it’s critical that We the People take back our government from the oligarchy that now owns it. So this is a blog post in solidarity with today’s action in Washington, DC. In it I take a look at who owns my Congressman and Senators. I would encourage all citizens to do the same with their so-called “representatives”. Let’s really educate ourselves and begin shining a light on the corruption in Washington. So [...]

Tagged as: business, Clean energy, climate change, economy, factory farms, Food, Fossil Fuels, politicians, The 99%

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Be the change: create the world you want to live in

by Kathy January 15, 2012 "Unstuffing" & Money

I normally don’t re-run posts here at White Pines Whisper, but given the events of the past year – the awakening of the global citizenry (aka ‘the 99%’) to issues of social and environmental justice – and the fact that it is the 83rd anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth I thought this one was worthy of a repost. It is one of my personal favorites and, I hope, offers worthy suggestions as to how each of us can go about making a difference whether we can actively protest or not. Originally titled “How to live simply & happily [...]

Tagged as: consumerism, economy, enough, environment, happiness, Inspiration, locally-grown, Simple living, Social justice, The 99%

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Trespassers will be composted: Urban Permaculture video

by Kathy January 12, 2012 Environment

Eco Films Australia has recently released a terrific new Geoff Lawton video, Urban Permaculture: Sustainable Strategies for Urban Living. Eco Films naturally focuses on permaculture and similar subjects Down Under and since permaculture was first “born” there and enjoys wide acceptance, there seems to be no shortage of material to film. In addition to their conventional permaculture offerings they have a number of videos for those with an interest in aquaponics (fish farming/vegetable production systems). Geoff Lawton is one of the better known permaculture teachers internationally, and his previous videos have dealt primarily with permaculture on a farm scale. According [...]

Tagged as: DIY, Food, food forests, Gardening, Permaculture

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Walk away from the King? Or Occupy the palace?

by Kathy January 9, 2012 "Unstuffing" & Money

I recently ran across an interesting little video of Yes! magazine publisher David Korten (video posted at end of post),  discussing the idea of “walking away from the King”. He rightly states that any King derives his power from the acquiescence of his subjects. If, however, the subjects decide at some point to no longer play by the King’s rules – if they walk away – the King no longer has any power over them. In today’s world of course, the “King” is the power of corporate money over our government. It’s the criminal malfeasance (for which there have been [...]

Tagged as: Advertising, business, consumerism, debt, economy, environment, politicians

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Breaking the Rules

by Kathy January 5, 2012 Miscellaneous

Well. Long time no post, huh? What’s up with that? I think it was the rules. There are lots of “rules” for blogging you know. At least, that’s what “they” say if you want to be a successful blogger. (And there’s no shortage of those “they” people to teach you the rules – for a price.) You know what I mean. You have to post on a rigid schedule. You have to write lots of list posts ’cause that’s what people like to read. You have to pinpoint a very defined topic. You have to agonize over each post title. [...]

Tagged as: Musings

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Building the mother of all tomato cages!

by Kathy June 15, 2011 Creativity
My tomatoes are getting big. How best to contain them this year?

For many gardeners, tomatoes are the holy grail. The difference between a homegrown tomato and those odd, red, vinyl things sold in the produce section of grocery stores cannot be described to those who have never tasted the real thing. No matter what else I grow in the garden, the tomatoes top the list of crops to be nurtured and eagerly anticipated. Imagine, then, the disappointment at losing any – even one! – homegrown tomatoes to rot, disease, or squirrels. In order to better protect and care for my precious tomato plants, I – like so many gardeners – have [...]

Tagged as: DIY, Food, Gardening

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