inspiration

Inspiration tends to come in waves for me. Right now, I'm feeling re-motivated to strive toward a lower-footprint lifestyle. For the environment, for peace of mind, for my family's financial "bottom line", for the kids' future...there are endless reasons abstract and concrete, selfish and altruistic.

Here are three blogs whose archives yield a wealth of ideas and inspiration.

http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/

http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/

http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com/

This week's mini-mission: Eat all the fresh locally-grown, organic vegetables in my fridge before they become food for the chickens.

We belong to a wonderful CSA, a farm-share. The boys think it sounds conceited when I say my farm, but I think of it that way, and I don't think the farmers would mind. It is a beautiful spot tucked into the Coast Range about 45 minutes from town. Once a week, they deliver boxes of veggies picked that morning to drop-off sites on members' front porches.

Every week we pick up a gorgeous box packed with vegetables, which we carry home in cloth bags and eat for the week. However, the things that are "easy" or that we would tend to buy anyway (like carrots, salads, and spinach) go quickly, which vegetables we are not quite as crazy about or less sure how to cook tend to linger (think fennel root, spicy radishes, and eggplant).

Minou's solution to our Thursday bounty of produce is to make soup, and it is a good one. However, some things just don't lend themselves to it (again, fennel root, spicy radishes, eggplant...)

I can't let this bounty go to waste. I'll let you know how it goes.

What is inspiring you these days?