The Quiet American

One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I was worried about reading Graham Green’s The Quiet American as it is set during the Vietnamese War, but this book is quite incredible.

Thomas Fowler, a war reporter who has forsaken his homeland of England and fallen in love with Vietnam in more ways than one, is dismayed when his life is uprooted by A Quiet American.

Oh my goodness, what a great book. It’s no surprise this is an American classic, taught in many classes on many levels, and made into several movies. Although there were brutal parts of this book, gory and scary imagery, I did not want to put this book down. What I might have enjoyed most about this book is the flaws held by all its charters. Fowler is flawed to the point of being almost unlikable, although one does like him. Each charater has a perfectly selfish motivation for thier actions and they know it. The fact that it impacts others, even takes lives, doesn’t bother them enough to make them change their actions. That being said, they all genuinely care for each other as well. A perfect picture that shows how selfishness destroys those around you and yourself. I would highly recommend this book for readers who love classic novels, books about the horrors of war, and stories of love and revenge.

Have you read The Quiet American? What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below.

Something Nice

A new little patchwork.

On My Mind On Friday Morning

More bugs! Save the Bees!
One day I will need to buy new sneakers (maybe sooner than later, mine have holes in various places at the moment) and this photo essay on ethical options might help.
I have’t sat down to watch this video of just the sun as it’s over an hour long, but I want to!!
I thought this myth busting FAQ of masks was very good.
Cool video about a new punk zine.

Reimagining My 2020 Goals

Last month, I took a look at the goals I made in the beginnning of 2020. Despite this year being completely different than anyone expected, I had achieved a lot of what I set out to. You can see my ruminations here. Below are the general goals I had

Creation Over Consumption
Be More Self Sustainable
Cat health
Work less
Spend less
House Projects
Travel and Explore
Read 1 Book per Month
Exercise

Here’s what I want to work on for the rest of the year:

Reduce Work, Increase Creativity
I’m working on some long term creative plans. I would like to know, even when I’m stressed with work, my creative endeavors are not the only things that suffer.

Continue to Read a Book a Week
Since lockdown began, reading has been a great joy.

Clean and Declutter
Being home a lot makes me think we need less things.

Finish the Greenhouse
Gotta get that greenhouse ready for Winter.

Focus on Family and Cats
There could always be more of this.

Get Back to Sewing
I’m hesitent to say i’ve restarted, but I’ve restarted.

Incorporate Stretching into Daily Life
I really feel that this will be important for my future.

Mental Health
I made some strides in this in the beginning of the year, but I want to keep up the momentum if possible.

How have your goals changed from January to now?

BYOS (Bring Your Own STRAW)

Getting rid of plastic straws and plastic bags will not save the planet, but every little bit helps.

The zero waste and plastic free movements are not just about bringing your own straw or using reusable grocery bags but everyone has to start somewhere. Learning to say no to a plastic straw is a greaat starting point to saying no to other disposable plastics. It’s also a great exercise in going without. Learning to carry a reusable grocery bag is an exercise in mindfulness. We have become a society obsessed with convenience and getting everything we want exactly when and how we want it. But if we have chosen to advocate for the environment, convenience is something we have to give up. Making due and going without is a big part of living a zero waste, plastic free lifestyle. Taking on that responsibility is a huge step in the right direction.

One of things that strikes me about a more sustainable lifestyle is that it places more responsibility on the individual; to make due, to go without, to find alternatives, and do better for themselves, the planet and our global community. That’s a big responsibility, a big commitment. And it’s not always easy. But no one is going to hand us that, we have to achieve that task for ourselves. Sometimes it seems impossible. Sometimes it seems like too large a task. But by breaking it down into easily achievable steps, we can do a few steps every day until we achieve our overall goal.

Now that it’s gotten harder to bring your reusable items to many places, at least you know you can always bring your straw! (and flatware, and napkins, etc…). We cannot count on shops and restaurants doing the right thing by getting rid of plastic, we can’t expect them to forgo the health and safety of their patrons for the health and safety of the environment under the world’s current conditions, and we cannot rely on big corporations to take a long term view on the safety of the planet and our global community (they have money on the mind instead). But we can choose to fight for what we want instead of sitting back and being passive. As consumers we can make the right choices and take responsibility on ourselves. Instead of using plastic cutlery at a restaurant, we can bring our own reusables. We can refuse a plastic take away bag, and use a reusable bag we brought ourselves. We can say no to a plastic straws, but no one needs to go with out, simply bring your own.

Tattoo Story: Red Wing Black Bird

For my 5th tattoo, I returned to my first artist. She had been traveling the world, doing conventions, visiting exotic lands, etc… and had left the shop where I had gone previously. This time, I traveled to Manhattan to get my tattoo. As with all my tattoos, I worked with her to come up with what I wanted. I sent photo reference and she sent back sketches until we had something just right. I knew I wanted a Red Wing Black Bird, which is my favorite bird (a very loud Jersey bird, in my opinion), and a reminder of my home on the coasts and marshes of NJ. She already knew that I like minimal color, thin lines, lots of black and grey, and came up with a piece that incorporated all this and several of the images I had sent. This was a long detailed session, my first tattoo where I had to take a short break to get up and move my body. I was extremely please with how it turned out and still am! That night, I had a bar backing shift, which I would not recommend after getting tattooed. For 5 days after, my arm ached in a way I had never experienced or could have imagined. At one point a few days later, I remember being in a restaurant eating sushi and just wanting to cry. It was a weird moment where I thought perhaps I was going to die. But a few more days passed and my arm was fine and I have a lovely tattoo to wear forever, so it was all worth it!

A Mind to Murder

One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I cannot get enough of PD James and her lead detective, Adam Dalgliesh. A Mind to Murder is his second mystery.

The doctors at Steen Psychiatric Clinic are used to dealing more with the mind than with the body, but when the corpse of their administrative assistant is discovered, freshly murdered in the records room, they can no longer deny the physical. A young Inspector Dalgliesh, poet copper, is called away from his editor’s party to begin the investigation.

After reading the first few pages of A Mind to Murder, I thought I was in for a book very similar to many of James’ stories. I figured the writing style and plot would follow closely to many of her other novels. I’ve said before that many of her mysteries are intensely remenicent of each other. She loves to ruminate of the repercussions of murder on small isolated communities. I would never call her writing lazy, and each book, although following a surprisingly similar plot, are compelling and interesting in their own way. But with this book, I was surprised that she did not follow the same plot, plot points, or character development. I was getting used to the idea of not really knowing what was going on inside the minds of the suspects, but this book gives insight into that, which is different than her other novels. I found that in some ways this made it hard for the reader to decipher who the murderer would turn out to be. If you’re a fan of James’ books, I think you’ll like this earlier version of her style. I would also recommend this book to those interested in 1960 medical dramas and techniques, those who like mysteries set in hospitals or medical wards, and any fans of a dashing lead detective.

Do you read medical related mysteries?

What is Plastic Free July?

And What Are We Doing About It?

For the last 3 years I’ve posted about Plastic Free July. Each year, people all over the world take place in the exercise of giving up some sort (or all) non-reusable plastics (single use, disposable) to help reduce disposable plastics on a global level and raise awareness towards a plastic free lifestyle. Visit the official website to learn more about it.

“Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. Will you be part of Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?”

My first Plastic Free July in 2017, I was testing the waters, learning about the movement and working out how the zero waste lifestyle could be part of my life. The following year, I was more able to incorporate PFJ into my life. By 2019, I was making lists and getting stuff done. This year, it feels easier than ever to make plastic free changes..

At first glance my Plastic Free July to do lists might not have that much to do with plastic. But the fact that disposable plastic is so insidious in our daily life means that almost everything we do daily is some how connected to single use plastic or plastic waste.

We didn’t have to sit down and have a brainstorm about what to do this year (but we did make a list, of course!). Our big challenge for PFJ 2020 came organically from an idea we had had for a while. We had be researching and talking about giving up store bought cheese (which is bad for the animals, environment and inevitably comes in plastic), for a while, so PFJ was the perfect time to put that plan into action.

This might seem like a very small thing to do. How can the act of not buying one thing help the world? But if everyone made a choice to give up one item of disposable plastic, it would have a huge global impact, and if we all give up the same item, for instance, disposable plastic bags, or straws, or water bottles, well then we wouldn’t have to worry about those pollutants or the ripple effect of problems they cause at all any more.

PFJ isn’t about doing it all, getting everything right. It’s about making a mindful, intentional effort to be better. To do better. It’s about a easy month long challenge to break into a more sustainable plastic free lifestyle. Plastic Free July can be a great jumping off point for anyone interested in leanring more ahout this movement, or the push you needed to get started.

Since we at Mad Cat Quilts already break up our journey to reduce waste into month long challenges, Plastic Free July is easily incorporated. How will you celebrate and challenge yourself this month?

An Unexpected Break

That’s what happens when your internet goes down.

The Joy Of Using Up

This is an ode to small batch, hand made, bar soap.

We have been using a conventional bar soap for the last few months bc we got it as a gift. It was nice enough, lemony in scent, lasted a long time. But the other day, when I switched back to a bar made by a local, small batch brand, it was a revelation. It was immediately apparent how much better this bar was.

The smell, the suds, the softness!!

The joy of using up a conventional product is one of the great pleasures of switching to more sustainable hand made items. It might be subtle, or revelatory, or purely intellectual. Knowing that you are making a change that’s better for you and the environment and your community gives a little thrill.

I’ve talked about how much I love bar soap before, how it’s one of the easiest and most obvious sustainable swaps you can make but also one of the nicest and more luxurious for your personal care routine. If you haven’t made the switch yet, I highly recommend doing so today!
Here are my favorite soap companies:

Blue and Gary Bath Time Rituals (pictured below)
Big Spoon, Little Spoon Soaps
Chagrin Falls Soap and Salve

Food Rules

One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Food Rules by Michael Pollan is a quick read, and a little outdated.

After writing several books on food and eating, Michael Pollan boils down his knowledge into simple Food Rules.

In this book, each rule is only about a page. They have been culled from the author’s other work, his personal history, family, friends, science and cultural traditions. All are stated in a simple and easy to read way. Cutting thru complicated jargon and making the science easy and approachable or the cultural truism simple to understand and universal, as well as that each entry are very brief, makes this book super quick to read. Some of the rules are what you might expect like “avoid food with high fructouse corn syrup” or “eat mostly plants…”. Some are a little more interesting like “avoid products that make health claims” or “eat your colors”. And some are about how you eat like “eat slowly” or “break the rules once in a while”. There were definitely a lot that I would say I had already known, but there were also a few that were new to me. I found some to be dated, having to do with old food trends, even tho this book is not really very old. But it was easy to apply each rule to current times or take it’s essence and see how it fits into life today. Although this was a very simple to read book, it didn’t really inspire me to read any more of his books. However, I would recommend this book to those who like to read books about food, diets, traditional eating, or cookbooks.

Do you agree with Pollan’s over all eating statement: Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much? Have you read any of his books?

Summer Capsule Wardrobe Inspiration

I’m having a little trouble getting motivated to make my Summer (Jul, Aug, Sept) Capsule Wardrobe this month. I usually start planning towards the end of the last month of the quarter, and by the first month of the current capsule I am pretty set. Finalization happens as I write my capsule blog. But this month, I’m like eh about it.

I thought this would be a good time to do one of my favorite things: watch capsule videos on youtube! If you’re not feeling making your capsule this quarter, or if you’re looking for a little closet inspo, you might enjoy these creators and videos.

The Anna Edit (video posted above) consistently posts Capsule Wardrobe videos every few months, and I love them. Her videos might not be drastically different each season, but I love how happy she gets when she brings out old favorites.

Jaime at Mademoiselle, like The Anna Edit, has a vastly different style than I do, which might be why I like their videos. They both buy many clothes, usually new, which is something I literally never do. I really appreciate the attention to detail and the reasoning and perserverence with which Jaime approaches her capsules. She posts a lot of 10x10 challanges, but I also love her weekly outfit videos.

Meghan’s wardrobe, approach to shopping, and lifestyle is far closer to mine but her fashion style is so different. I love all the bright colors she wears and how easily she purges items! I also love the ease and comfort she exudes when talking to the camera. She often approaches her videos as if she were your big sister and I want her to me mine.

When I was watching vids to get inspired I watched so many! But I think the three above creators are a good overviews of several ways to clean, declutter, challenge or capsule a wardrobe. Who do you most identify with? Who are some of your favorite Capsule Wardrobe youtubers or bloggers?

When was the last time you decluttered your closet or changed over your capsule?

On My Mind On Friday Morning

Continuing on with our bug themed OMMOFM posts, many countries have been ravaged by locusts all year.
This is a long but fascinating read about one New Orleans Detective’s real life roller coaster career from the 1980s to the earl y 2000s and her feelings on the state of the world today.
Last week, a building in one of my old neighborhoods suddenly collapsed. Luckily no one was hurt.
Treehugger has some great vintage victory garden pics.
I’m surprised that towns like this one, in Southern California still exist.

Authentic, Intentional, Mindful

In this series I explain terms used in the low impact movement, lifestyle terms, and other verbiage that I use on my blog and in my daily life. Simply, in case they are new to readers. In some cases, I have done some research on them, but these definitions are mostly what I understand them to be and how I use them.

Here at Mad Cat Quilts, you might see these words used often. For our definitions this month, I thought I would clarify three well used terms by explaining their definitions, what they mean, and how we use them.

https://www.instagram.com/singularity.sketchnote/

Authentic
”of undisputed origin; genuine.”
Living authentically refers to living a life that you want to live, not that is put forth as one you should live. It’s easy to get bogged down in the popular aspects of how life should be lead whether you are trying to achieve zero waste, homesteading, or a “normal” life. Someone is always selling somehting to make that life more achievable. Whether it’s product, a idea, a gadget, or an aesthetic, the media and other sales people want to tell you what’s best for you. Being authentic means being true to ones self, whether that truth is “cool” (hip, trendy, rich, beautiful, etc…) or not. Authenticity is not sustained by what you have, or how you look, but by being true to who you are.

Intentional
”done on purpose; deliberate.”
Living intentionally is how we manifest our authentic selves. By thinking about our purchases, decisions, actions, words, with intention we are able to better be our authentic selves. When something is thought out, thought about, examined and then put into action it is intentional. That is how we want to live.

Mindful
”conscious or aware of something. focusing one's awareness on the present moment, especially as part of a therapeutic or meditative technique.”
When we talk about mindfulness, we are mostly talking about being aware in the moment, of our actions, of the consequences, our intentions and out authentic selves. When we are mindful of ourselves and others and our impact on the world around us and on a global level we can live more authentically. We can be more conscious and conscientious, and live lives that are healthier for all.

Is this how you would define these terms?

https://www.instagram.com/singularity.sketchnote/

June Plant Update

I see a definite theme in my warm weather plant updates: Flowers. I love flowers. In the warm weather, I love to see all the flowers that are out as they bloom. In June, we travelled a little, tried to continue our daily walks when we weren’t working, and hung out in our own yard. We stayed away from the beach, now that it’s packed with people. But we were able to sneak in some beach walks, too.

There are several lakes about 5 min from our house. If you see them at the right time, they are shockingly scenic.

I was captivated by this shade of purple.

Puff ball.

Spire

Coxcomb?

The last of the irises.

We wondered down to Cape May NJ this month and stopped at some farm stands on the way.

A very flower full traffic island on my walk to work.

This color of rose is pure magic.

Another stunning sunset.

And a very blurry houseguest.

What do you love most to observe of the Summer plants?

2020 Goals | July Goals and June Recap

June took quite a turn for me, and not really in a way that I enjoyed. Most of my goals had to take an extreme backseat to “real” life. Sometimes when that happens it makes me feel sad and angry, if I’m being honest. But Now it’s July, so we must move on. One of the reasons to make monthly goals is to have a new chance each month to improve systems, habits, and productivity.

Here’s how we did in June: Not great.

Inbox to zero, but really this time
Cluttered inbox, cluttered mind, am I right?
I worked on this goal a bit this month. But I would love to get it done.

Make 1 comic
Something I’ve been missing.
Nope.

Make 1 video
Something I want to get better at.
Nope.

Make more concrete goals from the things you like about isolation
Something for the long term.
I did also work on this goal in June.

Stretch
Something for the very long term.
A little work got done on this as well.

For July, I think I have to do the same goals again. But add a few more in!

Inbox to zero, but really this time
Sometimes when I look at my inbox I just feel dread.

Make 1 comic
I’d really like to find a way to cronicle my experinces.

Make 1 video
I’ve made a few in the past, but I would like to get better at it.

Stretch
I’m not sure why I can’t get this into my routine.

Restart sourdough
June was rough and I was not able to keep up with it but I really like having starter for breads, pancakes and cookies.

Work on Decluttering
I’n not going to fool myself that I can declutter everything in one month, but I have been trying to get some progress made on this goal.

What are your July goals? What do you do to re-motivate yourself if you have an unproductive month?

Something Wicked This Way Comes

One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The second Ray Bradbury book I’ve read over the last few months, Something Wicked This Way Comes was also made into a Disney movie in 1982.

When the desire to grow up comes between two young boys on the verge of moving to manhood, their friendship is tested. When an evil soul sucking carnival arrives in town, things get worse.

I sorta kinda knew what this book was about, by pop culture osmosis, I guess. I have known people who grew up on the novel and the movie, and loved it. Although written somewhat like a young adult novel, there are many adult themes and scary parts to this book. And a lot of existential thought. As with Let’s All Kill Constance, I sometimes found Bradbury’s writing style difficult to read. In a totally different way than that novel, tho. In some ways it makes me want to read more of his books, and it some ways I never want to read another. I enjoyed the themes of the evils inside oneself: what greed, desire and envy will do to a person over time. I made sure to watch the movie after reading the book. A Disney Film from the 1980s, it was pretty slow and perhaps boring by today’s standards. But I could see, watching this at that time as a child, that it could have been very frightening. Mostly staying very true to the novel, there were a few parts where they diverged, especially in the case of Pam Grier’s performance of the side show witch. Something Wicked is, at it’s heart, a coming of age story of young men, and it seems to appeal mostly to men and boys. But I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books about circuses and sideshows, people who like books about hidden evils, coming of age stories, or books about small town adventures.

Have you read this book? Have you seen the film?

On My Mind On Friday Morning

We’ve recently started hearing cicadas again. A herald of the true, hot Summer, where we live, cicadas are so weird. With 17 year gestation periods, zombie making fungus, and left behind exoskeletons, water resistant self cleaning wings, cicadas are really really weird.
Our garden hasn’t had too many bugs, knock on wood. But here are some eco friendly insecticides if you need it.
I LOVED this post by FairDare about zero waste in a pandemic.
Best dressed books.
In yesterday’s post, I didn’t get to share any blueberry pics. Although we have quite a few bushes now, we still hardly get any bc the birds and squirrels either eat them, or sit on them and break the branches. It’s a great tragedy of the garden life to go out and find a clump of berries broken to the ground. Luckily, when ever we go out to the garden there are still one or two bluebs left for us to snack on.

Mad Cat Garden | June 2020

Our garden changed so much from the beginning of June to the end but it still seems, judging from other years, that many plants are a little behind in their development. We were able to eat lots of lettuces, peas, radishes, and kale at the beginning of the month, but by then end only some lettuces and kale and blueberries are ready to eat. There are many tomatoes and peppers growing but barely any were ripe by the end of June. We have been catching rain water to water plants with but for the long days of summer coming up the next few months, we might have to switch over to the hose.

The two new beds we put in a few months ago never really took off. The above picture is from the beginning of June, but little has changed. The tomatoes are bigger in the front bed and the zucchini in the back bed has blossoms now. The arugula in that bed went from shirmpy to bolting in a matter of a few hot days.

From the beginning of June to the end, our tomatoes and peppers have filled out and are producing fruit, but it’s not ripe, yet. Our spinach (below) had gone completely to seed and we are hoping to let those seeds develop and replant then in the fall. Same goes for our pea plants.

We harvested a few little cauliflowers from the bed shown above but the heat got to them as well. We will try these again for our fall crop. The radishes went to seed quickly in June and we are letting the seeds dry for replanting in the fall. This year will be a lot about seed saving and storage and experimentation.

Radish seed pod.

In the front yard, we planted soy beans which have grown and started flowering by the end of June. We planted potatoes next to them, which never grew (but I think they were too far gone by the time we planted them). Tomatoes and herbs are doing well in these beds.

Overall, all our tomato plants are smaller then they were last year, but it looks like sometime in July we will harvest a lot of those. Almost all our pepper plants, most of which were from seeds from last year, are small but doing well. In June we bought a few more herbs to fill out our herb bed. And as always, our pride of garden is our orange thyme plant, which has over wintered and grown steadily for three years now. I secretly hope it just takes over the whole front bed one day.

What did your garden look like in June? What changes from last year’s garden have you noticed?

June in Review

My new ritual, in monthly reviews, is to give thanks that my family and friends are well and safe, that my cats, my home, and husband are well and safe, and that we all continue to take seriously the precautions necessary to keep us this way. I am also thankful for the time and space of mind and thought that this pandemic and social awakening has afforded me. Each month I feel that I am trying to be mindful and thoughtful instead of just proceeding as nothing has happened. I am continually trying to rethink and realign my goals and priorities to lead more of the life that I want, a life that will make me joyful, relaxed, and mindful of others.

The garden was booming in June, and even got a bit too hot by the end of the month. We ate peas, lettuces, kale, blueberries, radishes and herbs in the beginning of the month. But now most of that has bolted, and we are trying to eat up the last of the lettuces, and such. We pluck the tips off of the herbs to keep them growing, but the radishes we let go to seed, to replant a new crop later in the season.

We have settled more into our routines for work, but has been hard to get used to an ever changing schedule and I for one, long for fall already. Every year around this time, I realize how much of summer I miss out on bc of my job and my natural aversion to people and crowds, but this year is more intense as many visitors are not caring to adhere to rules for face masks and social distancing. June was a big reminder that Local Summer is best.

In June we tried to continue our nightly walks as much as possible. We were even able to get away for a day, change up our perspective a bit. We don’t mind staying at home at all but leaving and traveling, even just a few extra miles, helped us be thankful for staying home again.

On our walks in June we saw so many #watchercats! In July, I suspect they will hide more from the heat. But this month, they lounged in the evening on porches and in windows. We also saw rabbits, deer, dogs, beetles, birds and other critters this month.

In some ways, from the beginning of June to the end, felt like many months. There were many ups and downs. And yet the time flew by and we are more than half way done with the year. We will have to be careful to balance ourselves in July, our work and our time, our creativity and our health, so that month is not gone before we know it.