Coop by Michael Perry
You may have heard of it. It may be on your shelf but not gotten to yet. You may have read it. Well, it’s good enough to either pick it up now, buy it, or read it again.
In over his head with two pigs, a dozen chickens, and a baby due any minute, author Michael Perry, gives us a humorous, heartfelt memoir of a new life in the country. This is a must read for anyone who like’s humor, farm animals, or natural birth. It’s all in there for a great read. You will laugh, tear up, and won’t want to put it down until the last page is absorbed.
New Uses for a Bar of Soap
Car Freshener. Put a naturally scented bar in your car door compartment and enjoy a far better scent than any paper pine tree.
Insect Repellent. Unwrap a bar of citronella or lemongrass scented soap and place on picnic table for a bug free lunch.
Stain Remover. Rub a bar of soap over grass and dirt stains before washing.
Itch Reliever. Rub a dry bar of oatmeal or aloe soap to stop the urge to scratch.
Baby’s Bottom Soap
Good To Know: This soap contains enriching oils to help relieve dry, irritated skin. Made for the most delicate skin. A warm vanilla-like scent with a touch of lavender.
Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Distilled Water, Calendula Oil infused with Slippery Elm and Comfrey, Essential Oils of Balsam Peru and Hungarian Lavender.
Element: Air
Chakra: Heart
INGREDIENTS is a Seasonal Exploration of the Local Food Movement
At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local.
Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of our current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children’s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste, and nutritional value of the food we eat has dropped sharply over the last fifty years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process we’ve lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health.
A feature-length documentary, INGREDIENTS illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize that connection. Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth, the film takes us across the U.S. from the diversified farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys to the urban food deserts of Harlem and to the kitchens of celebrated chefs Alice Waters, Peter Hoffman, and Greg Higgins. INGREDIENTS is a journey that reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities.
Do You Buy Local Food?
Are you a locavore? Well now you can wear it proudly. I’m Organic, a Wisconsin based eco-company has the shirt for you as well as other organic, green and environmentally friendly goodies. Buy Local Organic Cotton T-Shirt; $24.99, www.imorganic.com
Fresh the Movie
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.