Well, last month I was all about the crochet and knit. I credit our multitude of snow storms here in Central Ohio for my new found crochet proficiency. As thankful as I am to have finally grasped the basics of crochet, this month it’s time to shift gears and get ready to garden. We’re still novices in the urban gardening thing. Between hubby and I it’s truly the blind leading the blind. But we spend copious amounts of time at our local garden center plying the employees for bits of garden wisdom. Each year I think we do just a little bit better. Who knows, by the time we’re ready to be put into the ground, we may have figured out how to get something edible out of the ground.
As I posted yesterday, I’ve got my heirloom seeds ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I’m waiting on baited breath now, praying they get here before St. Patty’s day. I’m so excited to have so many heirloom seeds to play with this year. I’ve fallen in love with Baker Creek and their commitment to non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated and non-patented seeds. I’m jazzed that they refuse to buy seed from Monsanto-owned Seminis, and that they boycott all gene-altering companies. As I promised yesterday, I did look up Seminis. In 2005 Monsanto purchased Seminis, the largest developer of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world. Many of the seeds we buy at garden centers and nurseries, sold under the brands of various smaller seed companies, come from Seminis.1 Well, that’s an eye opener. Two companies I bought seeds from last year are on the “Owned by Seminis” list. Live and learn, right?
I’ve known, for quite some time, about Genetically Modified Organisms and how they’re altering our food supply. Think Frankenfoods. Think a salmon gene injected into a tomato to provide cold weather resistance.2 Is it a fish tomato or a tomato fish?3 I’m aware that here in the U.S. manufacturers do not have to list GMO on their packaging. U.S. soybean production is 95 percent dominated by genetically modified Round Up Ready soybeans.4 So much for the health benefits of soy milk folks, unless it’s organic. In a much-cited study from 2000, the Grocery Manufacturers of America estimated that 70 percent of food in the U.S. contains genetically modified traits.5 Just think what that percentage might be today? I also know that the main kingpin in all this genetic engineering of our food supply is Monsanto and their Roundup Ready seeds, pesticides and herbicides.
I pulled this from Monsanto’s site. I hope this doesn’t get me on someone’s black list. Won’t be the first I’m probably on.
The Roundup Ready® seeds contain in-plant tolerance to Roundup® agricultural herbicides, allowing growers to spray Roundup agricultural herbicides to kill the weeds without harming the crop. Roundup Ready varieties provide unsurpassed weed control, proven crop safety and maximum yield potential. Roundup Ready products are stacked with other traits such as Bollgard and YieldGard to add insect protection.
So if I understand this, and I don’t think I do, these are seeds that have been injected with “something” to protect them from a poison that would otherwise kill the plant? Then they’re zapped again to get rid of insects? I wonder how this is really impacting our ecosystem? How DID our ancestors survive without all this?
I’m not in any way an expert in any of this. My head nearly exploded just googling for the few articles to verify what I’m saying here. It’s just too much to comprehend. Here’s a couple videos I’ve found discussing what we’re up against when it comes to a behemoth like Monsanto. These are experts. I’m not. Whatever happened to working for the greater good of all? Can’t we all just get along and plant good clean food?
I don’t like to get too opinionated on my blog. It’s just a little to early to ruffle any feathers. Besides I’m not up for any cyber fighting. However, I read a tweet the other day cyber-begging for money for a new laptop. Not any laptop mind you, but specifically a Mac laptop because a cheaper option just wouldn’t do. After following little Layla Grace and her final fight with stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma cancer, this tweet just rubbed me the wrong way. Now I know, live and let live. You’re probably saying, “it ain’t nunya bizness.” And, in fact, it isn’t. But the appeal for this laptop (remember gotta be a Mac), which was elaborated on the person’s site, was so lame I almost lost my lunch. Yes, I did click through the link in the tweet. I admit I was curious about someone begging for money for a personal laptop. I thought there must be a legitimate reason – some life threatening crisis that only a tricked out Mac Pro would ease. But alas, it was simply a case of two young lovers, separated by the Atlantic, not being able to Skype because of a failing computer. I’m no stranger to long distance relationships and the inherent difficulties in maintaining them. I’d like to think most people would be a little more industrious and creative when faced with an uncomfortable situation like this. After all, back in pre-historic times, circa 2005 A.D., we didn’t have free phone calls with video, much less free calls to another country. But I wax nostalgic. This is 2010. Things have changed. There are traditional land line phones and cell phones with international calling, but I suppose those costs are prohibitive compared to the cost of a Mac Pro. It appears searching for a library or a cyber cafe and settling for the instantaneous email is just too much of an uphill battle. Maybe beg for a netbook instead? And I know I cross the line here, but what about that arcane manner of communication called snail mail? Last I heard it still works. Now here’s the clincher on that. You have to actually sit down with pen and paper, compose your thoughts, write them down and put them in a mail box. Then, Oh God, you have to wait. Sometimes days, even weeks before you get a response. No instant gratification with a letter. How did people do that back in the day? Were lovers less passionate then? No, I think not. Consider for a moment, the anticipation, probably coupled with anxiety, a young girl must have experienced as she waited daily for the post man to deliver a letter from her beau fighting a war in some far off land. Can you imagine the immense pleasure, no utter rapture, that was experienced when she finally fondled that anticipated letter in her trembling hands, only moments away from sitting and reading her lover’s words? Wow, just imagine. Ok, so that was then, this now you say. It is the digital age. But will the world stop, will love fade for the lack of a Skype connection via Mac Pro? When the first line of communication fails is it really all that painful to explore the alternatives? Get used to what really is only a minor inconvenience? Wouldn’t it be better to leave the cyber begging for more worthy causes like helping a dying baby’s family with medical costs? Or sending relief to Haiti or Chili? We do not lack for serious life threatening causes that the power of twitter can help alleviate. Am I being too opinionated? What do you think? And if you do disagree with me, I’ve had my eye on that 27″ screen iMac, a 3000 square foot house on a hill, and a really cute Mercedes Roadster I just don’t think can I live without. Can I count on you to help me out?
Sometimes something happens, completely by chance, that alters the trajectory of our life ever so slightly. That happened last night around 8 o’clock. I was skimming through tweets when I came across one imploring prayers for @LaylaGrace. I’m not sure if it was concern or curiosity, but I clicked on @LaylaGrace to see who she was. I just was not prepared for what awaited me at the other side of that click. Layla Grace is a beautiful 2 year old angel who has stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma cancer. For the past 10 months her mother and father have been blogging the incredible heart wrenching journey of their fight for their tiny daughter’s life at laylagrace.org.
Now I’ve never been 100% sold on twitter’s intrinsic value. I know information spreads through it like wildfire. The Iran crisis, the Haiti earthquake, now the Chili disaster. And this is all good. Being a techie, I use twitter along with Facebook more or less to stay in the “game.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m constantly coming in contact with people it would have been impossible to communicate with 5 years ago. I’ve found communities of like-minded people I like to hang out with. From a business and marketing standpoint, twitter is the place to be right now. However, it’s not and probably never will be my social touch stone.
But what’s been happening with little Layla Grace in the twitterverse is truly incredible. Last night when I saw that first tweet Layla’s followers were 25,000+. Right now it’s over 30,000 and climbing. Thirty thousand people, strangers, not like-minded at all, praying together for a little girl and her family that we’ll more than likely never know personally or meet beyond this thing called twitter. Yet combine that with her photolog on Flickr and Layla’s site at laylagrace.org, in 24 short hours I feel like I know this little girl and her family. The internet has helped share their journey with thousands. And here we are, united in a singular goal; praying for Layla and her family, and imploring others to pray with us, one Retweet at a time. More and more fund raisers are popping up. Mom businesses, Etsyians, individuals are all stepping up to the call to help raise money for Layla’s care. It reaffirms my belief in the goodness and generosity of people. And perhaps, just as important, I’ve finally found the intrinsic value in this thing called twitter. Please join us in praying for Layla and her family. We want a miracle, but time is short.
I’ve been gifted a brand new machine from my niece! Good things will come of this. I am so grateful. Thank you Kesha Catlin of Mi’Chek Boutique in Annapolis, MD.
Ok, I’m not starting the new year off too well. I haven’t posted since December 31st and here it is January 8th (ok, started this on the 8th, now it’s the 13th, jeez). Not good, not good at all. It’s not that I don’t have anything to post about. I’ve got at least half a dozen drafts in the queue. It’s that I’m not sure in what direction I’m going with this blog. I think I made the mistake of asking for peoples’ opinions too early. You know, as artists, we’re told to never reveal our work mid-stream. People will steer us off course. Not deliberately. Tips and advise were given with the most sincere intentions. And they helped. They really did. It’s just that I got to stewing in my juices over it. Which is what I generally do in such situations. Instead of politely taking the advice and continuing to move forward, I kind of got stuck and started questioning if I’m doing this right. Is there a right way or wrong way to blog? Will the Blog Police find me and flog me if I get it wrong?
I guess that’s where I’m at right now. Still figuring out my purpose, my mission. They seem to change daily, if not hourly. Now I could wait until I have all this stuff figured out and then restart this blog. But I think I’m just going to DO. Yeah, Nike’s slogan never gets old does it? I’m just going to do it. Just post about what’s on my mind, what’s going on in my life, what I’m trying to figure out, what ticks me off, what I struggle with. In this age of transparency and authenticity I think I’ve just got to be me, even if it is a mixed up me. Maybe there will never be a direction, maybe I’ll never set any parameters or have a definable purpose for this blog. Maybe I’ll just relax and enjoy the ride. See where this thing takes me. Sorry, I’m just not as structured and organized as some. That’s not me.
Hi, my name is Ramona, and I’m about to embark on a full year of the Creative Every Day Challenge (#CED2010 on twitter). I admit that I am powerless over my creative dalliances, and that my life has become pretty much un-freaking-manageable because of them. I have come to believe that a Power greater than myself has led me to this group of over 400 creatives, and that the challenge of being creative every day just might restore me to some semblance of sanity. Or at least that’s the plan.
Ok, there. That’s off my chest. Are you satisfied? I’ve at least taken the first step to admitting that what I’m doing just ain’t working for me. What did Einstein say about insanity? That the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”? Yeah, that’s me. Beating my head against the same wall over and over, doing it in my own little vacuum, and refusing to reach out. Well, call it serendipity, synchronicity, or the Universe just catching my prayer and lobbing a great tool with great people back at me. My mission, should I choose to accept it (and I do), is to make the most of this opportunity. To learn to go with my own Flow. To not compare myself or my work to others. To not be so intimidated by the “real” artists. To admit to myself that I am creative in my own special way, and that I do indeed have something to give to the World.
The holidays are coming to a swift close with the New Year anxiously waiting in the wings. As is the case at this time, we’re all filled with anticipation and reflection. The week between Christmas and New Year’s day is always my time to figure out what went right over the preceding 12 months, and what I hope to accomplish over the next 12. More often than not, I find myself disappointed that I did not live up to each and every one of my lofty goals. I vow with resolute conviction that I will do better, strive harder, reach higher, work smarter in the next 365 days (366 if it’s a leap year). It’s a habit. I don’t expect that I’ll break it after these many years. I don’t think I ever want to. I’ve become kinder with myself for not living up to all my expectations. I’ve learned to focus on what went right, not so much on what went wrong. If that means I’ve only checked off two or three of my twenty-plus goals for the past year, it’s ok. I can celebrate those two or three accomplishments with enthusiasm and joy. Because here’s the thing. I’m learning to distinguish between my wants and my needs. I want to be a Rock Star. I want to be a millionaire. I want a huge house and shiny new car. But I need to be respected by my peers. I need enough money to keep body and soul together. I need to be grateful for the simply abundant life that is mine. It’s only when I distinguish between these wants and needs that the true reflection of the year comes into focus. I made it through. I’m still standing. I have enough energy and optimism to start the process all over again.
And one more thing. In our type A society where we’re all rushing into the future to get more things done in less time, I think I’ve figured out something pretty important for me. My spirituality is guided by the premise that there is a Higher Power, Supreme Being, Source, the Universe, whatever you want to call it, that is guiding me through life from a perspective that sees and understands the “Big Picture.” Something I can never comprehend. From that premise, this Higher Power has already granted me a certain amount of time for this life here on earth. So obviously, there is always just enough time, not a moment more or less, for each of us to get exactly what we need to get accomplished. I’m secure in that fact, but it doesn’t stop me from making the lists and trying to live up to them. Like I said, it’s a habit.
Happy New Year. May it be everything you hope for.
