Recycled Canvas Bags and Hats by PAZ Apparel | Fashion Peace.

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We recently updated our website with a fresh new look! Please have a look at our recycled canvas hats, bags, totes, and baseball caps.

Perfectly good 'old' new stove/oven

$180 later and a $30 delivery charge and we now have a brand new reconditioned oven that frankly looks and works like new. Proof that rethinking old habits together with taking action do indeed lead to change.

Old is the new 'new'!

While shopping for a new appliance today (our stove/oven died last night) it occurred to me how addicted I am to 'new'.

What's wrong with getting a re-conditioned stove? Or a 'used' oven?

For years marketers have told us that 'new' is better and in some cases it is...however in light of the current state of affairs....the economy and the environment.... I stopped myself from sliding down the slippery slope of gleaming stainless steel and have instead opted to shop for a stove that has been reconditioned.

Not only will it cost me much less than a new one but I'll be putting one less hunk of junk in our landfills.

A point worth a ponder.

Wow! Check out the soulful sounds of Jonah Smith

We went to see Los Lobos a couple of nights ago and were pleasantly surprised by the opening act.....a guy by the name of Jonah Smith. He blew us away.

Thanks for such a great performance!

Los Lobos called him back on stage to sing "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - as an encore.......unbelievable....not rehearsed and perfect. Check out his self titled CD on iTunes if you appreciate soulful vocals. 

Reaching outside our personal boundaries to touch others

Today while I was searching on-line for a bakery that would send a cake for an upcoming birthday occasion I stumbled upon a site that sends cakes to our military folks overseas. I thought, 'What the heck?" I give to charities, I provide loans on KIVA.org to complete strangers in other countries so why don't I pay tribute in some small way to our troops overseas? 

I may not agree with the circumstances that led our brothers and sisters into combat but I sure owe them a debt of gratitude for doing what they feel is the right thing. Ideology aside a cake can warm the heart and it warmed mine knowing that someone far away is going to get a welcome surprise from a complete stranger.

What does it mean to be 'Aware'?

This week I did some playing around with Google Maps and was quite disturbed to come across the following images of the northern province of British Columbia in Canada.

What I saw in them at first did not seem possible, yet as I looked closer and zoomed in thanks to Google's technology I was shocked to see for myself the devastation mankind is inflicting on our planet in the name of 'economy'.

Look closely and if you are brought to anger....stop for a moment and consider to whom your anger should be directed. To "Them", for carrying out the destruction? Or the 'unaware' self acting as one has been taught from childhood; to be a demanding consumer? 

Click on each image to open it in the same browser at full size. Then use your back button to return to this page. At the bottom I've provided a link to the google map so you can zoom in and around the area.

 

 

 

 

View Larger Map

Mid week thought

Months ago during a broadcast of 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos, George Will of the Washington Post said something during the course of the show that has stayed with me and become somewhat of a mantra.

"The refusal to defer gratification is the fundamental attribute of childishness."

I just think this statement is so ripe for our time.

Yummy cookies exploding with goodness!

The cold foggy days of winter always make me feel like baking. The problem with that is I end up doing a LOT of baking and conversely...a LOT of cookie eating.

These cookies are completely vegan and yummy yummy. Oh and if you are a fan of frozen cookie dough this is the recipe for you.

Dry Ingredients: 
1 3/4mug of flour (I use mostly white unbleached flour, with some whole wheat flour along with a tiny bit of ground flax seed. You decide what proportions are best for you. And when I say 'mug' I literally mean a coffee mug. See pic at the end of this post for reference.) 
3/4 teaspoon (a real table 'tea spoon') sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 mug olive oil
1/2 mug maple syrup (fill with oil first and then to the top with the syrup....when you empty the mug the syrup just slips right out.)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 table spoons, (Yes a real 'table' table spoon...I don't use conventional measuring tools.... this is serious baking here.) Dehydrated Sugar Cane Juice "Sucanat" is the brand I buy.

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Then mix the wet ingredients well enough to emulsify the oil and syrup. I use a plastic container with an air tight lid to shake the ingredients together. Kids especially love to shake the container wildly.

Pour the wet into the dry and mix well.

Then the fun part, 1 huge handful of each of the following:

walnut pieces (small evenly sized chunks)
almond slices (blanched skin off preferably)
cranberries
raisins
chocolate chips
(Optional: coconut shreds, pecans or pumpkin seeds)

If I have white chocolate chunks on hand I add a handful of those as well.

Mix well and then using your tablespoon, scoop out spoon sized cookies and place onto a cookie sheet.

Flatten each with the heal of your washed hands and bake in a 320-350 degree oven and remove when they are nicely browned. Bake longer for crunchy cookies, less for chewy ones. You can also just spoon drop the cookies for a more rustic look. Either way these cookies won't last long!

Quinoa With Eggs on Brown Rice Bread Toast

Here's another way to enjoy my quinoa salad. For this version add a can of beans or 5 bean mix.

Then I scramble one egg with a sprinkle of cold water, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. (I cook my egg in the microwave in a Small bowl. It only takes one minute and the scrambled egg comes out perfectly tender and slightly moist. Not rubbery as you'd expect.)

Double toast a slice of brown rice bread, drizzle with olive oil and top with the scrambled egg. (If you double toast your brown or white rice bread you'll get a nice crunchy piece of toast. Otherwise rice breads tend to toast up a bit chewy.) 

Cover the egg with the quinoa salad mixture and enjoy!

Plastic Bags, power strips, and rechargable batteries

Nine months later and I'm still using the same zip lock bags I spoke about in an earlier post about recycling.

I've managed to develop a habit of cleaning and drying our bags which in the long run has saved us real cash and since I'm reusing them over and over and over I'm relieving our land fills just a tiny bit.

I never did buy a new smart strip but we do still unplug power draining devices like the tv and computers. Our electric bill went from $60 a month down to $30 a month so I know it's making a noticeable difference.

And finally, the USB port rechargeable batteries never actually caught on in our house. Yes I'm sorry to say I'm still buying boxes of batteries from IKEA. Not everyone is perfect, right?