bad toad
i recently read in one of a stack of recycled favorite canadian gardening magazines (passed on by a friend... and i'll do the same when i've saved all the info from them that i want) - this quote; "you don't go from being a bad toad overnight" the author was referring to his own switch from using chemical fertilizers and pesticides to organic gardening. but, it's a brilliant observation, applicable almost anywhere i can think of. it's a comfort in times of frustration, and a reminder that life does, after all, place some limitations on us, that are sometimes beyond our control. we don't stop being bad toads just because we tell ourselves we don't want to be bad toads. it won't change itself, overnight, in our sleep. learning and changing takes time and work.
one facet of my effort to no longer be a bad toad, is to move into the town where work. working from home is not an option at present, and living in the present place requires a 15 minute commute to work each day. i've decided that this is not a necessary evil, so i have bought a little old stucco house in the town where i work. (77 years old, to be exact, with hand-hewn beams supporting the floor. you can see the marks of the axe on them!) As of May 1 i'll begin walking - to work, to shop, to visit friends, etc. and i'm expecting to sell the little truck once the lion's share of needed renovations have been done, and i don't need to haul building and landscaping materials any more.
i'll renovate and super insulate the 'new' place and its small detached garage. the garage will house my weaving loom, drawing and sewing tables, etc. and i'll endeavor run its lights, sewing machines, etc. on solar power. this will give me a better idea how to do similar things to the house, and just how much energy can be got at varying times of the year in my waynorth location.
been devouring all i can find on related issues... just finished The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael Shuman, and Heat - How to Keep the Planet From Burning by George Mionbott in the past few weeks. Waiting for a copy of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to come in @ the local library.
and have been brainstorming with friends and neighbors about locally sustainable business... working on getting a directory together, etc.
the sad thing is, the purchase/move will eat up all my savings, so the purchase of a kayak will have to be put on hold.
lunch break is over... duty calls
one facet of my effort to no longer be a bad toad, is to move into the town where work. working from home is not an option at present, and living in the present place requires a 15 minute commute to work each day. i've decided that this is not a necessary evil, so i have bought a little old stucco house in the town where i work. (77 years old, to be exact, with hand-hewn beams supporting the floor. you can see the marks of the axe on them!) As of May 1 i'll begin walking - to work, to shop, to visit friends, etc. and i'm expecting to sell the little truck once the lion's share of needed renovations have been done, and i don't need to haul building and landscaping materials any more.
i'll renovate and super insulate the 'new' place and its small detached garage. the garage will house my weaving loom, drawing and sewing tables, etc. and i'll endeavor run its lights, sewing machines, etc. on solar power. this will give me a better idea how to do similar things to the house, and just how much energy can be got at varying times of the year in my waynorth location.
been devouring all i can find on related issues... just finished The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael Shuman, and Heat - How to Keep the Planet From Burning by George Mionbott in the past few weeks. Waiting for a copy of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to come in @ the local library.
and have been brainstorming with friends and neighbors about locally sustainable business... working on getting a directory together, etc.
the sad thing is, the purchase/move will eat up all my savings, so the purchase of a kayak will have to be put on hold.
lunch break is over... duty calls
posted by grannyfiddler at 12:03 PM
9 Comments:
Hi,
I thought a toad was a good thing in an organic garden?
Janice~
I hope you will be content in your new cosy little house, sounds fabulous and full of character 'axe marks',
you kayak dream will come true one day.
Hi GF
"learning and changing takes time and work"
I couldn't agree more and it's encouraging to see the changes you're making.
Your new place sounds really neat, along with your plans for renovating it.
Thanks for your nice words at Earth Home Garden, I needed that...
By the way, I've just added you as link to our blog.
A timely post. Just this weekend I started replacing all my light bulbs with CF bulbs. I was total CF at a former house, but hadn't changed them out after moving here. I had some problem fixtures where my older bulbs wouldn't fit, but found that the new smaller CF's actually give out more light while fitting in my fixtures. I'll save the older ones for lamps and such. Oh, and I made some split pea soup today from scratch. Much better than eating out. Just a bit about my small changes as I move from being a toad myself.
janice - right you are! oops! i don't think it was meant by the inventor of the phrase as a slur on toads in general... and i think he actually said "you don't go from being a bad toad to a good toad overnight" so i'm working on becoming a good toad.
claire - i'm looking forward to the move hugely, thanks... only 84 more sleeps! the other house is far too big and empty since the kids all left. been a bit lonely. so, between that and the recent nudges to my conscience, it looks like a good change.
jim - thanks for the encouragement - your blog has been very encouraging and inspiring for me (and i'm sure for many others as well)
shadowmoss - hi there! CF's... are those the fluorescent screw-in bulbs? i've tried some of those too. i have a neighbor (at the soon-to-be former residence) who is entirely off - grid. his bulb of choice is LED. i find them a bit dim, and i'm not sane with out lots of light around me, so LED's are not the answer for me. the fluorescents i've tried were much better.
I think change is an aspect none of us embrace easily. Have you noticed how enthusiasm for changes increases when it doesn’t directly affect those advocating the change?
The move to town sounds good and well thought out, I hope you also gain some more time with like minded neighbours. Maybe you can barter a lend of a fiddle or other favour for the lend of a kayak when you need it?
Sustainable business is a most important part of our corporate social responsibility.
And I am sure you will come up with good business plans. How about advising others on how to make their homes more sustainable?
Best wishes
ll - thanks for the encouragement. i'm very excited about the sutstainable business thing. we have some wonderful possibilities here. though we're very far north, and technically in zone 2 (which means the temperature here is pretty much expected to drop below -30 F here each winter) we began as an agriculturally based community, and that hasn't died out, quite. i envision wine and juice making (there are wild berries everywhere, and their domestic counterparts thrive as well, as well as many apiaries), wool blankets & garments (from sheep, bison and alpacca, which are all raised here) there's a lot of grain grown here as well, and, of course, the famous (or infamous) Alberta beef. and there's so much more...!!
sadly, i don't know of a single person in town who owns a kayak, so borrowing one isn't likely. there is a kayak club in the nearest city, a 1 1/2 hour drive away)
Enjoy your house.
I have added you to my blogroll at White Light of Peace. You set a good example for people wanting to make a difference in the world.
Post a Comment
<< Home