Where does your Christmas come from?

At SilverMoon house we celebrated our very first Holiday Party on December 19th, Winter Solstice on December 22nd, and our very first Winter Moon is tonight, December 25th (also, Christmas).

I, like many other people, love decorating for holidays. It gets me in the spirit and changes up the energy in the house. It builds up the anticipation and keeps things looking fresh. Yay decoration!

The drawback there is the push to combine decorating with consumerism. Companies market to consumers what their idea of a full table looks like, what the walls should look like, what you need to get to make it "feel" like the holiday season.

Well, that's just rubbish.

Companies market cheap, brightly colored, trinkets which we use for a few weeks on our trees and tables and wreaths and then we throw it all out come January 1st. I've walked around the city a few days after New Years and noticed the sad, dried out, wasted Christmas trees - some with lights still on, lining the streets waiting for a garbage truck to take them away. There will undoubtedly also be broken angels, cracked bulbs, and glitter shrapnel choking the gutter drains creating a twinkling twilight zone on a still post-holiday evening.

So much waste.

I find myself wondering where is the joy in these days? If you are religious - what God / Goddess / Spaghetti Monster sanctions such bingeing? If you aren't religious - where is the logic in excess consumerism that seems so prevalent in the winter months?

There are articles and documentaries that speak to the true cost of Christmas Culture. Factories in China have long been targets of investigative journalism. Information about workers being fined for using the toilet, being rushed through training and working with dangerous tools, chemicals in a country that doesn't necessarily care about the health hazards faced by the workers who use them, the list goes on and on.

Who made your Christmas ornaments? Seriously, who made them?

I want to be mindful of our use of ornaments and decorations. No, that doesn't mean we won't decorate, or that we will only DIY things. It does mean that I'll be checking out some DIY crafts, taking a look at the country of origin on the purchases I do make, and trying out places like Ten Thousand Villages and Etsy for  new things and Goodwill for others. Also, there are sustainable tree farms and mom'n'pop side of the road home businesses that could use a little cash for the holiday season more than a Walmart CEO.

Just before Christmas I went to check out the Urban Craft Uprising for good holiday ideas that support local artists and artisans.

There were lots of interesting folks- makers and artists with interesting gift ideas. D and I bought T's gift there. A laser cut wooden model for him to build. I can say that now 'cause we opened gifts earlier today. :-)

We are trying to be mindful this Yule. Mindful of the push of materialism, mindful of the time and privilege we have been given to be able to enjoy the holiday, and mindful of the meaning behind the season.

Happy holidays!

10 Tips To Keep You Bright Through The Rain

 

1. Turn off the TV, turn on the music, and dance!

 

2. Clean and organize your home.

 

3. Aromatherapy - cloves, lemon, ginger, cinnamon, orange - happy smells!

 

4. Goloshes and a good walk.

 

5. Eat blue and purple - blue berries, beets, trout, blue potatoes, concord grapes, and eggplant.

 

6. STRETCH - either with yoga or on your own.

 

7. Plan your spring - are there places you'd like to go? Research them! Things you'd like to do? Prepare for them!

 

8. Write letters to friends and family - when was the last time you got something better than bills or junk in the mail, it feels great to get a letter, give it a shot.

 

9. If you work during the day and don't get a lot of light - improve the lighting at your work space and take breaks to go outside and face the sun. You may look weird, but it's better to be happy and a little weird/quirky, than depressed and sad.

 

10. Pay attention to yourself. The message of this season tends to be all about giving - giving money, giving time, giving presents, donating coats and socks, and all of those things are great - just make sure you also give to yourself. Listen to what your body needs and act accordingly. Maybe you need a little more sleep, a good foot rub, a long bath, a salad instead of another piece of cake - pay attention to your body and mind.

A Rainy Day Adventure at Woodland Park Zoo

My Cyber Monday gift to myself was a membership to the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle. I went with D on a rainy weekend when it was just miserable outside. I figured that most of the animals wouldn't care about the rain and that there wouldn't be a crowd - I was right! Walking with D through the zoo was like having my own private day in a personal menagerie!

The hippos were active and grunted and made low purring / growling noises. I've never heard a hippo before! They seemed interested in my bright red and white Starbucks cup. Don't worry, I kept it on my side of the fence at all times, but the hippo certainly seemed interested.

Can you see the hippo swimming towards me? As always, you can click on an image to see it in full size!



The lions were staying out of the rain...

The wolves didn't care either way about the rain...

My favorite part of this adventure was the Trail of Vines exhibit. That's the indoor area of the orangutan zone. The orangutans were all indoors, hanging out, nibbling on lettuce, and finding various things to curl up with. There was a volunteer there, but that's about it.

One of the orangutans was close to the window, curled up in a blanket, and staring out at us, the humans. She tapped the glass with two fingers. She tapped again at us - just under the sign that read, "please don't tap the glass." The volunteer told me she was about 49 years old and that she was trying to tell me she wanted to see my ears.

Well, I'd never had communication with an orangutan before, so who was I to refuse!? I crouched down on my hands and knees and showed the lady orangutan my right ear. Then, at her bidding, I showed her my left. Then back again.

D was laughing the whole time...or perhaps she was jealous that she didn't seem interested in his ears.

We continued through the rest of the exhibits - playing with the otters, talking with the volunteers and guides, and doing hide'n'seek with the giraffes. They stayed mostly in the stable, but they came out for a little while to check us out and peer around the trees at us. We were more on display than the zoo creatures!

At the end of my adventure I went back to the membership booth to pick up my calendar. They were kind enough to hold onto it for me while we were walking around so it wouldn't get wet. It hangs in the house now reminding me to go back soon!

Can't wait! :-)

Victory is Mine! (End of Mousewars?)

Warning - eww ahead -

It has been quiet at night. Too quiet.

• I wrapped my clothes in brown paper so I could easily tell if they'd been disturbed. 
• All guitar cases that had been stored under the bed were removed 
• ALL on-the-floor storage was cleared out and lifted
• The grass was cut super short
• Counter tops were cleaned and sprayed with peppermint
• Floors were mopped with peppermint soap
• Original live traps were replaced with glue and snap traps 
• Door seals were added to all doors so that you couldn't put a dime under them
• Orkin put a bait box outside
• All food was put in glass jars or in the fridge (no more fruit on the counter)
• Peppermint oil was dabbed along the corners of the floor (smells like Christmas!)
• I started burning peppermint oil in the house

Besides smelling like a freshmint commercial - I thought these tactics might work to disinvite our little guests. Things were quiet.
Then I caught a wiff of something off.

I was laying on the floor getting a calf rub from T who was on the couch ( I know, lucky ) but then something made me wince. The scent made me choke a little it was so unexpected. It was the smell of rotting meat.

I've dealt with the scent before in sorting carcass barrels at a wolf sanctuary. There was no refrigeration. Let's just say I'm mostly immune to the effects of corpse smell and I can sense it a mile away - but this was unexpected and in my own house.

You couldn't smell it everywhere either. It was very faint and came in little wisps on the air.

I freaked out. 

I checked the compost bin - bananas, the fridge - rice, the dog's bed - dog, the carpet - baking soda and peppermint, the sink - dish soap, the couch - cotton, I crawled around like a mad woman sniffing the air and trying to figure out which way the air was flowing that low in the house. There was nothing.

I thought maybe I was going crazy. Perhaps my nose was going haywire, or I had a sinus infection, or my imagination was inventing it? But now I couldn't get the smell out of my head. I kept sniffing and narrowed it down to someplace near the sink and under the cabinets - but I couldn't see anything under the cabinets. Ty got a flashlight and I couldn't see anything but it was definitely coming from that area.

Then Ty put the flashlight under the fridge and I saw a tail. There was something with a tail stuck to a glue trap.

eww....

Some shrieking, and getting D out of bed, and clearing off the top of the fridge, and careful rolling of the fridge later - the offending smell was exposed. It was BIG.

I was too grossed out to look at it long but it was bigger than I expected. I had imagined a tiny house mouse, the kind you might keep as a pet, but this was a beast. Not quite rat-sized, but the idea crossed my mind.

No wonder the live traps didn't work - it couldn't get inside!

So, with the mouse war possibly over, we aired out the house and disposed of the ex-creature. I feel sad about the casualty, but now I can sleep better at night.

Also, fyi, my house doesn't smell icky now. It still kinda smells like peppermint and I might keep it that way for the season. The smell of victory...