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Issue #2: July 2004, Worth its Weight

Covering It:
Worth its Weight, by Kylie Loynd
I met a woman last week who said she and her husband shop by "The Latte Method." When they are considering buying something, they compare the cost to the number of lattes they could buy instead. At about two lattes per issue - or less than a latte a month - our magazine felt like a good value to them. (I would have used Green & Black organic dark chocolate bars myself, but everyone has their own benchmark.)

Sometimes there is a funny relationship between cost and value…

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Whole Foods:
History of a Food Snob, by Lee Revere
I was rude to a friend of mine the other day. I didn't mean to be. We were nibbling on fresh blueberries and I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't find an organic blueberry farm nearby, when she suddenly got very quiet. "These aren't organic," she confessed. "Oh, all the farmers say it's hard to grow blueberries without pesticides," I backpedaled. It was then that the clouds collided in my head and rained a hard realization: I have always been a food sn... (read the complete article)

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From the Ground Up:
Know Where it Grows, Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA), by Kylie Loynd
How far did your food travel before it reached your plate? One thousand miles? Across an ocean? Despite the distance, it probably arrived looking nearly perfect. For most of my life, it never occurred to me to wonder how. Food just was. It sprang fully formed from the head of our grocer. Chances are it was picked unripe, treated with chemicals to manage its growth and maintain its appearance, and had lost most of its food value along the way.

There is a reason local produce tastes so good: it was picked at the height of its freshness, ripe and ready to eat…

Alternatives to Pesticides, by Marian Wineman
I watched in dismay as my neighbor nonchalantly sprinkled oodles of chemicals on her yard. I'd like to point to the storm drain located just inches from her yard's edge and try to explain how everything that runs into it travels directly into Puget Sound…

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Everything Herbal:
Plantain Pulls it Out, by Kylie Loynd. Based on a conversation with RavenCroft Garden's founder EagleSong, Community Centered Herbalist (CCH) and Director Sally King, CCH
"One of the things that defines a weed is that it chooses its own place to grow," EagleSong tells me as I arrive at RavenCroft Garden. "It's called free will. I like to be reminded of that," says Sally King. We are outside at RavenCroft Garden looking for plantain. "She is everywhere, and we don't notice her." My eyes are drawn to the garden beds, but Sally is pointing to the path under my feet, where plantain stretches in a lazy trail all the way to the fence line…(read the entire article)

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A Balance of Health:
Hints for Summer Fun, by Dr. David Ramaley
With the summer days upon us, many of us are ready to go outside and enjoy the sun and try to shed a few of those extra pounds we subtly - or not so subtly - put on over the winter. Here are a few ideas to help enjoy the summ... (read the complete article)

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Treading Lightly:
Kenaf: the Clearcut Alternative, by Kylie Loynd
In the Pacific Northwest, you get plenty of time to ponder, as you drive along staring at the freshly cut ends of immense trees piled into the back of a big rig. Each time I see this, I wonder how long the demand for lumber can possibly be sustained by the dwindling supply. I've had my share of debates about clearcutting, deforestation and what we will do when building with timber just isn't an option anymore. Whenever a tree-free idea comes my way, it has a personal draw.

Kenaf, the clearcut alternative: as a slogan, it catches my eye. As a publisher and consumer, I love this plant… (read the complete article)

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With Our Hands:
Tried and True Oil Finish, by Derrick Burke
Have you ever bought an old piece of furniture at a garage sale with the intent of refinishing it? Have you inherited a beloved aunt's favorite armoire that you would love to display, if only it looked better? Maybe you'd like to refinish it yourself, but haven't found a product that wasn't smelly, sticky and, frankly, dangerous.

Nowadays it seems like every finish on the market has something on the label… (link to entire article, pdf pg 16, July 2004)…

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Looking Within:
The Knowing Voice, by Alexa Robbins
Next time you seek help from someone you regard as an expert, try listening to him or her and to yourself at the same time. Try feeling and sensing what your body tells you. Do you feel tense, or relaxed, calmed and centered by the information being given to you? Don't judge or analyze, just feel…

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A Ring, in Time, Saves Whine, by Marie J. Nelson
Valentines Day, 2003. My boyfriend, Craig, and I had been dating for a little over a year. We both knew this was It, but didn't quite know how to say it. This all changed on Valentine's Day, when we decided that rather than exchange gifts, we'd give each other love letters. Craig gave me a big hug after reading his letter and handed me mine. He suddenly leaned in and peered at me closely. I thought maybe he was going in for a kiss. His lips parted. "There's a big booger on the end of your nose." …

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In Community:
The Power of Small Steps: A Conversation with David Spangler, by Lee Revere
David Spangler is the author of nearly a dozen books, including The Call, Parent as Mystic, Mystic as Parent and most recently, Blessing: The Art and Practice. From 1970 -1973 he was a co-director at Findhorn, a meditation and spiritual retreat center in Scotland known for, among other things, a legendary garden where 40-pound cabbages were commonly grown in sandy soil. Continuing his lifetime work as an educator, David is currently the executive director at The Lorian Association, a spiritually focused education center located in Issaquah, Washington, northeast of Seattle. Recently I spoke with him about community.

It's been my observation over the years, working with folks in the environmental movement or in a spiritual movement - any movement that sees itself as a minority, up against the inertia and weight of Western civilization - that there are certain attitudes that tend to crop up. "There is not much we can do." "We are powerless." The other is adversarial: "They are the enemies and we must defeat them." In that regard, it may be helpful to not think in terms of small steps and big steps, but rather in terms of power. Small steps are good. We have more chance of feeling our power more of the time. And the more we feel it, the bigger the small steps can get. If I'm going to take a step, I don't want to take it with apology, but want to have a sense of my power…

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Backing Out:
Trade Her In, by Kylie Loynd
My daughter, Niya, is almost six, and lately things just aren't working. "You know, we can still trade her in," my husband, Kurt, reminds me, only half kidding. What once felt like isolated growing pains now feels like it is coming in waves…

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