Victory Garden of Tomorrow
i have two problems to discuss today.
first, i have a lot of opinions about how to live simply and greenly. sometimes its hard for me to stay true to what i know i want to stay true to (got that?). sometimes its easier to just go to the grocery store and buy a bag of greens than it is to make myself make that farmers market a priority. don’t get me wrong, i love the market. and we all know i love the mt. p farmers market, but if i’m going to be honest, i have to admit that sometimes the market gets skipped in favor of a long ride or run or any number of life’s little distractions. that’s in part, why i’m writing here. to help hold myself accountable.
secondly, as of august 9, i have owned my own place (a tiny little unit in a co-op) for two years. and there is not one piece of meaningful art on my walls. most of them, in fact, are totally bare. all i can say is thank goodness there was a little color on them when i bought it or i could easily be living in a tiny little white box. i have always put stuff up, but for some reason now that i own the walls, i’m totally paralyzed and unable to put holes in them. it just feels so…final. ridiculous – i know. a few years back, i made a rule for myself, thinking it would encourage me to actually hang art. art that i liked. art that i would be able to tell a story about or think fondly back on when i looked at it in the years to come. the rule was, ‘if you like it, buy it, no matter the cost. of course cost matters, but try hard not to let it stop you from buying it…’ that was the gist of it anyway. since then i have purchased a few pieces that i absolutely love. they have not, however, made it to the walls…or the frameshop.
today i purchased four posters that i hope help break both of those unfortunate points. i have a place in mind where i will place 3-4 of these framed. i hope they will serve as friendly reminders to practice what i preach + also spruce things up a bit.
eat local greens: i can’t begin to explain my love of greens. i go through a tub of lettuces and spinach (and if the season is right kale, chard, chard, kale and, um, kale. did i mention chard?). i love greens. i barely discriminate, but i do confess to thinking mustards are a cruel, cruel excuse for a green. but, as i said before, i can get lazy. i hope this little reminder helps me make more consistent decisions.
break new ground: this guy is there to remind me that i do have a community garden plot and despite the frustration that comes with getting to it and tending to the weeds through heat and bugs, the satisfaction of eating responsibly + having access to fresh flowers is not only good for the planet, but it’s good for me too. sometimes i just need to buck up and get out there!
compost: when i look in my garbage, i see mostly organic material. non-organics usually find themselves in the recycle bin. this is not the first time i have come to this conclusion. for 1.5 years, not so long ago, i maintained a compost bin filled with hungry little red worms that impacted me in more ways than i will get into this very second (i promise to in another post). but, it’s time for me to get back on the bandwagon and start turning my waste into garden fuel! so, new worms will be ordered shortly and this will hang as a reminder to keep on feeding the little guys. its honestly not any more work. in fact, maybe less work because it results in less trips down to the trash room.
recycling is reusing: i’m not horrible at this one, but i really liked the way it looked and firmly believe in more than recycling, but reusing. sometimes this means i save more things than i should, insisting a future use will present itself. and almost always shortly after i trash something thinking i’ll never find a way to reuse it, i think, ‘shoot! i wish i still had that what’s-it-called, it would be PERFECT this very instant. i acknowledge there is a line that needs to be drawn and things need to be recycled/disposed of, but a little creativity can go a long way!
check out Victory Garden of Tomorrow‘s etsy.com shop!
