Thursday, April 16, 2009

trying new things

you know how im always taking on new projects for self, life, spirit, community and so forth improvement? whether it be taking on the politics of birth, switching to cloth toilet paper, or converting our car to run on veggie oil i pretty much have a knee jerk reaction to most situations once i realize i am dependent on something that is not necessary. (i will ask you kindly to overlook my internet and Lost addiction okay? thanks!) i've always sort of been one to push boundaries and try new things. a fact that im sure has given my parents both gray hairs and smile-wrinkles. so anyways a few things i'm thinking about doing or am currently doing right now

1. nixing the microwave
as of this week we're putting away the microwave for at least a month. maybe more if this goes well. my buddy caleb from church said he didnt have one and i was boggled but immediately like DUH! and so began my weaning from the microwave. it just is not the healthiest way to heat things up plus i reject the idea of being pacified by convenience when there is a healthier way to do things. at the very least i want to show myself that there is another way to do things that isn't hard to adapt to (hi, this is a big life theme of mine!)

2. seed bombs
have you heard about guerrilla gardening? it's a doozy of a philosophy that encompasses all kinds of motivations (from hunger driving a person to take over public land to grow edibles on to simply wanting to beautify a space that has been neglected). from what i've researched most folks are into the beautification part more than planting edibles. im knee deep in a book about it (written by the guy who is in the video im going to link to) and am in love. i'm thinking about making some seed bombs and getting guerilla on columbus. here is a great how-to video if you are interested in getting your own nails dirty. quote from the video: "ready to wreak havoc on the urban wasteland" i love that...

18 comments:

amy said...

Lost falls into the necessary category.

Olive said...

THANK YOU!

nathansmart said...

Well then, you better have fresh popcorn popped for us when we babysit for you next. Your kids will have our throat if they can't have their microwave popcorn - and I'm damn sure not going to be wasting good popcorn popping time on a couple of under-5ers...

Hannah said...

I haven't had a microwave for over a year and the only thing that I miss it for is heating up my little sore muscle rice bag thingy. And heating up leftovers is a bit of a pain. Let me know if you come up with a handy way of doing that.

Carly said...

My university just started a garden club and I stopped by just to check it out. It ended up being horribly unorganized, but I got a bag full of seed bombs before I left!

Olive said...

nathan - when we go camping we get some of that stovetop stuff. i think that will pacify them. and by them i mean YOU :)

Anonymous said...

I'm sure you've already read some wendell berry, but if not, _the unsettling of america_ will strengthen your already strong conviction to weed out that which is unnecessary, especially regarding technology (though berry wouldn't use a computer, either!)

a recent photo of my husband taking part in his art-school sponsored seed-bombing workshop:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=176163665327&h=8mC0H&u=hF3GJ&ref=mf

Momof2boys said...

what a great idea and just think how much in utilities you will save!!!! i have a tip for reheating baked mac n cheese...you just put it in a pot with a little milk and there you go...it's lovely...lemme tell ya...lol

meridith said...

we haven't had a microwave for a year now and i hardly missed and don't worry i love popping popcorn on the stove. it tastes soooo much better. also i want to seed bomb.

The Striving Homeschool Mom said...

Hey Jenny! Love that you are thinking about doing away with the Microwave! Ours broke about 2 1/2 years ago and I thought (and we didn't have the money) why buy it and we prayed about it ( yes I pray about strange thing, but i figure Jesus is my bestest friend so I share everything with him even these silly things!) and both my hubby and I felt convicted that it was not a need but more of a convince so we just didn't buy one ! To be honest we haven't missed it one bit!! So I think it's awesome!!

Kristin said...

1- the wendell berry book mentioned by another reader is my FAVORITE book. I bet you would just eat it up!

2- we've been microwave-less for a few years now and don't miss it one iota! Food tastes better without it, and now when I am around microwaves being used I get a slightly funny headache (although that could just be "in my head" ha ha ha). Good luck! I know you will be awesome at living microwave-less. :)

Olive said...

meridith - the only popcorn we make is on the stove top in a big pot, for some reason we happened to have a bag or two (from my dad?) when you guys babysat last. they love it but it's not something we keep around. just seeds and oil so that won't be a big adjustment.

lenore & kristin - i LOVE wendell berry and have that book and mad farmer poems checked out the library right now :)

sactoandy said...

Yes, definitely ditch the microwave! My wife and I did about 4 years ago after reading an article about these college kids experiments. They set up a few plants and watered half with normal boiled tap water, then watered the other half with microwaved tap water. The plants watered with the microwaved water died. A microwave essentially kills any nutrients in the food (or water) that is being heated up. Oh, also, you save on counter space!

Anonymous said...

I would love to go microwave-less! Let us know what tips and tricks you come up with for re-heating food, etc. Will you use your stove, or a toaster oven?

Elise said...

Hi there,

I agree that it's 100% possible to exist without a microwave, but it sure is a low energy way to heat up food. Five minutes of low energy use versus thirty or more to heat a stove. I don't love my microwave but I've decided that it's earning its counter space by saving me $$ on the utilities bill as well as consuming fewer resources. And just to dispel that myth regarding microwaves being bad which I'm sure your engineer husband can confirm, they are just energy waves like light and heat.

Elise

Olive said...

anonymous- so far it's been using the stovetop a lot. like heating (or in my case - a busy, work at home mother of two little kids - reheating) tea, soup, etc. the biggest problem is when the kids are hungry hungry hippos and some leftovers are reheating in the oven. then it would be idea to pop something in the microwave or toaster oven. boo! hiss!

Mandy said...

Your talk about the seed bombs made me think of Miss Rumphius one of my daughters' favorite children's books. Have you read it?

Olive said...

i haven't! what age range is it appropriate for?