My continuation of Sharon Astyk’s now-completed “Independence Days” project (June-Aug 2022), which offered a framework for recognising how we’re building resiliency, community, and accountability that will make our lives better now and in the future. Many of Sharon’s categories are (or could be) related to gardening, so it seems to fit here on this blog. Equally, none of them has to do with gardening. They’re all multifaceted.
I’ve modified Sharon’s categories to better match my own life and community; I may continue to tinker with the framework as time goes on.
- Plant something: plant, start something
I made half-price reservations on Monday for a stay in coastal New Hampshire during a few days in March (the sale ended Monday evening).
On Thursday, I started a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle called “Village Christmas Tree” that was left over from last Christmas. It’s not really my style but it’s festive and will be fun to do this week (or longer, depending on how often I get to it with everything else to do).
We cut down and set up the Christmas tree on Thursday, and my husband hung its lights on Friday. I have yet to decorate it with ornaments but hope to do it soon.
- Harvest something: harvest, forage, glean, or bring to fruition
I harvested a lot of clothes when I cleaned out and organised my closet and armoire on Saturday (more below), something I hadn’t done since we moved almost 15 years ago. Took the clothes (about 30 items, including shoes and accessories) plus some Christmas-themed household items to the local consignment shop on Sunday. That felt great, to toss them back in the river of re-use and create space in my closet, drawers, and shelves.
I took photos of all my shoes, boots, and sandals (16 pairs in all, 3 not shown here), then collaged them, printed them out, and taped them to their boxes to make finding them easier.
- Preserve something: food, local community resources
Local resources: Bought goodies from local bakery on Thursday. Shopped regional co-ops on Wednesday and Thursday. Shopped local gift/clothing store on Saturday — found several great things for my sisters for Christmas. Donated items to the local consignment shop but didn’t buy anything there (I tried on some things, though :-)).
Donated to a state-wide conservation organisation on Tuesday.
- Waste Not: reduce waste, reuse, salvage & repair, give away
As mentioned, I spent 5 hours sorting through all my clothes, shoes, and accessories (except jewelry) on Saturday afternoon, taking lots of things I no longer wear (or never wore) to the local consignment store on Sunday. I had been thinking the last couple of months about buying some slippers, but while sorting I found a pair of slippers in new condition, which I hadn’t realised I had, and they’re perfect! Husband sewed up the hem of a bath towel on Sunday and he mended some of his shirts.
- Keep Stocked Up: with food and emergency supplies, financial resources, and experiences that make life worth living
Food/Supplies: Got extra propane on Wed. while doing errands up near Tractor Supply. Another free order of four Covid tests arrived from the U.S. government on Saturday.
Stocked up on some items (cereals, cat pâté, dental rinse, regular and chickpea flour, and soup) at Market Basket on Friday while we were in the area. I ordered another pair of winter boots (for walking/hiking) for me on Monday, which arrived a few days later and fit perfectly.
Experiences: Walked around the lake on Friday – warmish, no breeze! Also walked in town on Tuesday and Saturday.
I’m enjoying the jigsaw puzzle, set to Christmas music, when I can get to it. I’m now reading Patricia Cornwell’s latest Scarpetta (Unnatural Death), always a pleasure, though that seems the wrong word, and I finished Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon, which I liked. I watched “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” (recorded) while I was treadmilling on Sunday night — I enjoyed the lights and festivity, the lighting of the tree, and some of the fashion and music (and I zipped through a 2-hour show in a mere 45 minutes). I’m loving the Jacquie Lawson Edwardian Advent calendar.
- Food Stuff: learn new food skills, try new recipes, use what’s available in the pantry, use what’s grown/made locally and what’s seasonal
Husband made two loaves of sourdough on Sunday, trying a new recipe to make it more sour/tangy.
Dinner Monday was leftover Indian food from Thanksgiving for my husband; I made creamy artichoke-spinach-shrimp pasta for me, and we both had that pasta dish on Tuesday, with broccolini sautéed with (our) garlic. Then we had it again on Wed., this time with a raw red bell pepper. Thursday was pre-made Indian meals with papadums. Friday I got swordfish and made Italian fish stew (with local fingerling potatoes and my frozen pesto from 2021), which we also had on Saturday, and then we finished the pre-made Indian food on Sunday.
- Be Neighbourly: contribute to community support systems, look for ways to help neighbours and others
I participated in a Zoom community forum about the future of the public library in town, led on Wednesday evening by their consultants; I thought it was interesting and it felt worthwhile. It was their 11th and last session in town, and they said our library had the most town engagement per capita of any of the hundreds of libraries they’ve ever worked with!
It’s cheering to see our (multiple) neighbours’ Christmas lights at night from inside our (also lighted) windows.
- Skill up: learn new things, especially skills or knowledge that remind us of our place in the natural world and within the social fabric
My husband is learning more about sourdough (and I whole-heartedly support this endeavor).
- Tend & Maintain: maintain our bodies, minds, and relationships to keep us resilient; and do what’s needed in the house, yard, and elsewhere to prevent failure/breaking/hassle down the line
Bodies/Minds: I had a dental cleaning and exam on Wednesday afternoon, and a hair appointment early that morning. I had two negative Covid rapid tests (Tuesday and Saturday). I worked out three times (3 hours) this week and treadmilled on Sunday evening for 3 miles.
House/Yard: Cleaning and organising my closet, including thoroughly vacuuming it. Also did 3 loads of laundry (towels, clothes, and a special one for some bulky items that rarely get washed). Bought extra propane at Tractor Supply while were in that area on Wednesday.
Relationships: Spent an hour on Monday afternoon with a friend/neighbour who has returned home after a month away. Talked with my sister on the phone for almost two hours over the course of the week (mostly on Monday). Celebrated my other sister’s 55th birthday online and via texts (plus mailed card and gift sent earlier). Salon met on Zoom on Friday (due to a Covid case + holiday traveling) with all six of us participating. Permaculture group met by Zoom to finish discussing our book on Thursday (seven of us). Some nice exchanges with friends/family via social media, email, and texting this week, too. A college friend and I talked by phone on Thursday morning for a half-hour.
- Winter is coming: notice Earth’s seasons and our own seasons of life and daily rhythms, and look ahead to what’s needed now to make life better in the future
I find Christmas shopping, like other non-food shopping, not all that fun. I like choosing what I think/hope someone will like, but it also feels like overload, overwhelm, a too muchness of stuff and thinking about stuff and paying for stuff. Even sometimes when the “stuff” isn’t an object but an experience, a membership, or a donation to an organisation on someone’s behalf. There are some gifts though that are fun to make or find, because they are personal in just the right way, or they’re exactly what you know someone really wants; but I can’t talk about them here until after Christmas 🙂 [This is a thoughtful gift guide for gifts that don’t cost money or that cost very little money.]
Anyway, that’s all to say that a LOT of my time this week was taken up with researching gifts, hunting them down, and buying some of them when the “best” deals were available. Next week will be much the same, but with the addition of wrapping and mailing everything I haven’t had sent directly to the recipient.
I’m looking forward to putting ornaments on the tree on Monday or Tuesday. Also looking forward to three webinars — all on the so-called natural world — next week. One webinar’s topic is “Designing for Winter Gardens,” which seems apropos. Monday night’s is a 1-hour tour of birdfeeder webcams in Maine, Canada, and Europe, and it’s the first of several planned by Maine Audubon through mid-February.
We’ve had snow falling all day with more to come tonight. I like snow, when I have nowhere I need to be (unless I can walk or snowshoe there).
Entering the season of rest.
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