Simplify

Simplify...articles abound...shoulda, coulda, woulda. I believe in the concept but today it really hit home with me. There are some papers that I need - really need - some discrepancies exist that could be explained easily with the papers that are somewhere at someplace. I know they haven't been thrown out. I know this because I never throw anything away. The thing is I never know where anything is. I have papers stacked in baskets, stacked in shopping bags, stacked in boxes, stacked in stacks, no labels, no segregation. This keeping of stuff doesn't just apply to papers, I have clothes stacked in baskets, in shopping bags, in luggage, some even in drawers. Not just the clothes that fit me and I wear frequently, clothes that still have tags attached, clothes that are too small, clothes that are too big, clothes that I'm going to do something with some day. I have dishes and kitchen utensils packed away in the garage, many sets of dishes in the cabinets and drawers and there are only two of us and never more than 8 of us and yet I have 3 or 4 times that. (I could supply a restaurant).
I would give anything away to people who need it - I really would - but I can't bring myself to give it to a charity that will turn around and sell it. Maybe I should have a yard sale and make everything free.
The thing with simplifying is where do you start? The task seems overwhelming. I know that simplifying will help me find things more easily and stay organized hence ease my mind and lower my stress level.
My mother was a hoarder, I am terrified I will end up like her.

Review The Last Station

Watched The Last Station this evening, a wonderful film about Leo Tolstoy's last days and his relationships most notably with his wife. Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer were excellent in there roles. Makes me want to read more - dig deeper into their history. I have no idea what the critics had to say about this movie but I will give it a *high five*.

Not Spring Yet but I Can See It From Here

It was a beautiful sunshine day. The snow is melting at just the right rate or so it seems to me. We are expecting snow again the first of next week. The water levels are already at 130% of average in some areas. This is good news. I am ready to start planning for a small garden this year. I am in a new area and have not attempted a garden here. There may be more shade than is optimal for tomatoes and peppers. I may end up with a container garden on the deck to be able to have enough sunlight for long enough to actually grow my produce. I have this urge to get back to basics and there is nothing like growing food to help us do that. The taste of fresh tomatoes, peas, corn and bell peppers is amazing. If you only have a small space you can still have the experience by growing cherry tomatoes in a flower planter. You can grow lettuce and peppers in a small planter as well. If you start soon enough you can start your plants from seed in the house. There are kits at your local stores to help you get started. If you don't want to start out from *square one* there are always starter plants at your local home and garden stores or grocery stores.
If you are absolutely unable to grow your own garden, try to find a Farmer's Market. Usually at city parks once a week, a wonderful community experience.

Curiouser and Curiouser

The Tim DeChristopher story just got curiouser. It seems that now young Tim just got *caught up* in the moment and never really intended to defraud any one. He only went to the auction to observe the proceedings but once there believed the only way to get in was to be a bidder. He was totally surprised when he won the first bid and just kept on going for the next 13.
So what is it - premeditated extremist environmental folk hero or naive kid? Seems to me that young Tim's story changed when he realized 10 years is a very long time. Tim, if you really believe in the cause - then do the deed and suffer the consequences.

Do You Want Fries With That?

I spent several hours (while not sleeping ; ) looking at *bio diesel* fuel on the net yesterday.
It seems that waste ie:used vegetable oil can be filtered and or combined with diesel to fuel a diesel vehicle with only slight modification. Heating the fuel is an important factor, if this heating process (140 deg) doesn't take place the fuel will gum up the filters, hoses etc. and your vehicle won't start on the next try. Also, it seems that the more distance you travel the more fuel efficient and cost effective this method is, much less so for short trips and in town driving.
I live in rural America, I can't seem to find one place that I can purchase this fuel nor can I find restaurants that are willing to let me dispose of there used oil for them. The sources I found on the net seemed to think that restaurants were very anxious to get rid of this oil, win-win, free fuel and no hassle disposal of used cooking oil. There claims may have been a bit optimistic.
You would think that McDonald could effectively create an outlet for this fuel. "A Big Mac, fries, Pepsi and ohhh say 10 gallons of your slightly used cooking oil to go, please"

Folk Hero or Not ?

The first day of March and I have committed to posting every day for 1 month (31 days worth!). A monumental undertaking for an habitual procrastinator.

So, have you been following the DeChristopher saga? In a nut shell, he is the guy who bid up oil drilling leases with no intention of actually purchasing said leases and certainly no intention of drilling. This fellow is being proclaimed by some, according to the Salt Lake Trib. as being a *folk hero* in the tradition of Edward Abbey's the Monkey Wrench Gang. Now granted, it has been over a decade or two since I read the book , (guess I will have to find my copy and do some comparing) but if memory serves, I don't know that I would make the comparison.
Tim DeChristopher could be facing a 10 year jail sentence and he says it would be worth it to keep drilling out of the Moab area, however with 3 attorneys and 300 protesters, it looks like he is fighting hard to stay out of jail and may or may not win that battle.
I believe we, as citizens of this planet have a fundamental responsibility to be good stewards of said planet but on the other hand I feel that it is not in the best interest of the United States to be at the mercy of foreign entities for our fuel sources. Side note: isn't it just as irresponsible to deplete and destroy another countries lands - even if they are sand dunes?
I will be reading the Salt Lake Tribune and also re-reading *the Gang* and trying to sort out some thoughts -I'll get back to you on this one!