Living Small in Austin TX

I can't help but smile whenever I pass this!

Lately, I've been feeling out of sorts - missing old friends, feeling a bit impatient about how long it seems to be taking to make new ones here in Austin, and reading/listening/watching way too much depressing information about peak oil and climate change.  Ugh.  Some mornings it felt like I'd slept under a lead blanket, and never managed to shrug it off once I crawled out of bed!

I may have turned a corner this weekend.  On Saturday, I started my long awaited Permaculture Design Course!  There are 30 of us in the class, and despite all the coursework packed into the long day, plenty of time to get to know each other.  I tried to talk to as many people as I could, during breaks and other opportunities, because once everyone had introduced themselves, it seemed everyone had something I wanted to talk to them more about!  Whether it was edible landscaping for the public commons, or seed saving, or creative ways to re-localize our economy...well, I could go on and on, and certainly could have kept on talking to my fellow classmates all night!  And I'm an introvert.  Generally, a couple hours and I really start to need some time to myself, but every once in a great while, I can get caught up in the creative synergy of a group that works particularly well together and really surprise myself.

So between the excitement of the course itself, a full day off from my regular duties, the potential for new friendships, the perfect weather for biking over there, and just the collective sense of...ooh, dare I say...hope?  Yeah, I'll say hope!  I've been giddy all weekend!

Okay - little random facts to remember from class on Saturday - Redbuds are nitrogen fixing trees, a hammock is indispensable to the design process, there is a right and a wrong way to approach a berry bush (downwind!), Henbit is edible, there's an organization here in town called TreeFolks and they give away saplings, the universe is still speeding up, and a tree divides into branches 6 to 8 times.  I also found a HUGE owl pellet out in the field.  It had very large rat teeth in it, among other things...

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NO POO UPDATE!

My hair is soft.  My hair is shiny.  I have not felt the need to wear a hat.  There is really nothing not to like about No Poo!  Well, except me liking everything in its place, and so needing to find suitable containers for my baking soda and apple cider vinegar in the bathroom.  Bumbling around the kitchen, emptying tablespoons of each of them into whatever little non-breakable container happens to be empty, clean, and at my disposal is, while a minor inconvenience, an inconvenience nonetheless.

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ONE LAST THING BEFORE I GO TO BED

I hope one day I will look back on this afternoon and laugh.  My big strong farmer shoulders will shake as I recall how urban and soft I was.  How I let that roll of chicken wire beast me!  How long it took us to construct a simple little cage attached to a frame to keep the critters out of my piddly little raised bed!

 

 

 

No poo.

"I'm thinking of going 'No Poo'," I announced from behind the shower curtain. 

"No what?"

"No POO.  I think I'm going to give up shampoo."

Nathan stuck his head into the shower, "You know, I hardly ever use shampoo..."

Oh.  This reminded me of the time I asked my brother what he used to wash his face.  I was probably in my late teens at the time, with an arsenal of facial masks, scrubs and cleansers cluttering up the bathroom.  My skin's never been all that great, but he always had the nicest complexion.  "C'mon, aren't you going to share your secret?"

He paused a moment, "I don't wash my face."

Not washing my face didn't work, but then again, neither did washing it.  At the moment, I'm finishing up a monstrous bottle of Cetaphil facial cleanser I bought at Costco well over a year ago.  It hasn't worked any miracles and I'm only using it because I feel obligated not to waste it.

Part of my personal Zero Waste initiative, is to focus more on the Reducing part of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  The seond two are second nature and pretty easy, but the first part trips me up.  It's hard to stem the tide, not because I know there isn't another way, but because the other ways require time.  I've grated castille soap into homemade laundry detergeant and it's not a ten minute job! Some things I know I can replace, but I need stuff like...shampoo and sun-screen, in their blasted little plastic containers.  Or do I?

Apparently not.  Using shampoo sets us up for a cycle wherein our scalp produces an excess of oil.  If I could just push through through the adjustment phase, I'd never have to buy an expensive bottle of paraben-free lather again!  And my hair will probably look and feel better than it ever has!

I'm thinking it's the perfect time for me to attempt No Poo.  I'm almost out of shampoo.  I'm wearing hats all the time anyway, because I'm growing out my hair and it looks pretty awful most of the time.  I have plenty of baking soda, and apple cider vinegar and essential oils* already on hand for my grand experiment. 

So, I guess this is Day 1 of No Poo.  Or maybe Day 2 or 3.  I'm not particularly obsessed with bathing as it is, nor do I have the time, and I do have a lovely array of hats.

^{*You didn't think it just meant completely ignoring the old head, did you?}