Mindful Chickens - Plastic & Hunger 12/20/2020

I went for a walk on Wednesday and saw this mitten on a sidewalk. When I was at the same spot on Friday, it was still there, so I brought it home because it is a hand-knitted kid mitten, ya know? Any knitters out there interested in making it a mate, so that we could give it to a kid in my community or your? It's 7" from top to ribbed bottom. 

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The point of “Mindful Chickens” is to spend less money while being mindful of the environment and our human values. We can try, right?

Probably most of what I write about how to live frugally and thoughtfully in the holiday season/winter months is old hat to most of you. Specifically, an old knitted hat given to you years ago or purchased on sale somewhere. You still wear it; it still keeps your ears warm.

But here we go.

1. Len and I put plastic over the lovely dining room windows in this 1922 house. Even with the flapper era storm windows, there’s enough breeze to puff the sheer curtains. Plus, the view is a classic urban non-scape– driveway, fence, the neighbor’s windows.

I’ve been winterizing leaky windows for decades and I bet many of you have, too. Modern kits are way more convenient than they used to be. This year there is a top tape that one just applies to the top of the window, then one pulls down the thoughtfully folded plastic and presses it into the vertical tapes.

I remember doing this job with masking tape and drycleaner bags. In case you want to try this free and ugly technique; collect a half dozen bags from your friends who actually utilize a drycleaners. Tape flattened bags along the sides of the window, then crumple more bags and stuff in from the top and bottom. Obviously, this blocks the view and looks like hell, but it kept my kid’s bedroom toasty warm. I put a flowery curtain over it, she didn’t mind. She now lives in a home with modern windows so I suppose the experience taught her how to set meaningful life goals.  

We buy kits in late winter when they go on sale.

But tell me this, pals. Why do we have to PAY for these kits? Why are they not available free?

Because we have been educated to assume that practices and materials to address climate catastrophe are up to individuals. If a family can’t afford $35 to purchase them, then too bad for them.

2. I read 'Mountains Beyond Mountains' by Tracy Kidder. It’s a biography of Paul Farmer, one of the three people who started Partners in Health, a worldwide organization with a powerful mission to bring excellent health care the world’s poorest people. I read the book in three days; it was never boring or tedious.

It reminded me of how poor the poor really are. I respect his “preferential option for the poor.” I highly recommend it and I now plan to read some books actually written by Farmer.

Partners in Health

3. It’s been ten years now, but I was a weekend guest of a MayaWorks weaving family in the highlands of Guatemala. https://www.mayaworks.org/.

One evening the teenage/young adult sons came home from a Sunday spent with friends in town. It was a 10-mile bike ride (up and down hills) for the three sons to get back on two bikes; someone was riding fender. They were hungry but dinner (soup and tortillas) was already over. Masa for the next day’s tortillas was still mush in a covered cooking pot. There was one bag of stale bread hanging from a nail on the wall. The mother gave each son the equivalent of a hotdog bun. That was that.

No one complained. When there isn’t any more, there isn’t any more.

Guatemala is one of the poorest nations in the western Hemisphere. The US and Canada are the richest and most of us have never hit “there is no more.”

Yet, this. US unemployment in February was 3.5%. Now it’s 6.9%.

Strategies and practices to stretch our money seem kinda weird when measured against people in our communities who are hitting the “there is no more” wall.

I’m not going to tell you as to what to do, just reminding us that it is crazy to watch people be hungry right in front of you.

Hunger is blasphemous.

4. I wrapped our presents in the brown kraft paper and white bakery bags I bought last year. The paper can be recycled and even if it isn’t, it doesn’t add toxic ink to landfills. Although, to be completely honest here – I’m on my second year of paper printed with cavorting animals wearing winter hats. I figure that by the time the 4-year-old realizes she’s seen this paper before I will have bought a new roll of (on-sale) kid paper.

5. Len noticed that his fav shopping emporium had our coffee on sale for $4 less than we pay at the grocery store, so he made an on-line Farm & Fleet order for a couple fishing lures and four bags of coffee. This saved us $16 and if this doesn’t sound like a Wisconsin moment, you don’t know Wisconsin.

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What are you doing to be thrifty and generous?

Seriously, what specific organizations do you donate time, energy, goods, and money to? If you have suggestions for the rest of us, let us know.