A Crunchy Life - June 2024 Newsletter
Think of this as a letter from a friend with a deeper look into this month's post. I share more thoughts and resources for tapping into a simple, intentional life filled with Earth-based practices.
Hello friends!
The June post is up and it is about the impact of pulling the word “Plenty” out of my jar of random words on my altar one morning has had on my thinking.
Interrogating the word “plenty” led to a deeper understanding of how I am living this life and my deep connection, respect, and care for the planet and the web of life.
My working definition of plenty, from the beginning of the post, was wrong. Plenty is not having what we need without over reaching. Plenty is more than enough, a great deal. I know people who are in a cycle of striving for plenty, and many of them have the storage units to support that striving. Plenty is not my goal.
My goal is not to have plenty, in a tangible sense. My goal is to have enough, a sufficient amount so that my way of living, behaving, being in the world, and the choices I make supports a better life for all.
Plenty is what I have within me to continue to strive to live my life in a way that supports all. I have plenty of desire, motivation, compassion, connectedness, wildness, and heart to do it. Yes, I have more than a generous amount.
Here’s a deeper look into how I am using my hand, head, and heart this month.
Here’s how I'm using my hand, head, and heart this month to continue to be the quirky family that has enough.
Hand: Herbalism & Traveling Light
In this month’s post I shared that when I was about 15 years old I discovered my first essential oil, patchouli. It was the early 1980s and I wore essential oils as perfumes and grew patchouli, lavender, and rosemary in my garden. I loved the smell. I was the only person I knew who was wearing essential oils and growing herbs. I didn’t think much about it; all I knew was that I liked the oils and I liked growing the plants. This was my gateway to herbalism.
I began to read whatever I could find. When I decided to dig deep into herbs and oils one of the first schools I turned to was The Herbal Academy. Self-paced, online courses were manageable for me while working full time as a teacher and principal.
Here is my super easy Summer Body Scrub recipe as alluded to in this month’s post.
3 oz (84 grams) sea salt 1 ounce (30 ml) jojoba oil or olive oil Fresh Rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped 6 drops Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) essential oil I like to add 6 drops of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil as well to nourish the skin. Plus, I just love the aroma created between lavender and rosemary. Mix all in a 4 ounce jar with a tight lid. Use one tablespoon at a time to scrub hands, arms, feet, legs, chest, neck, back. I like to use this in the morning as the rosemary helps wake me up. Note: It is best to make a fresh batch every few weeks. Even though this recipe doesn't contain water, leaving it in the shower and using wet hands to scoop out the scrub can lead to faster spoilage. As always, consult with a healthcare professional before trying any herbal preparations.
The Herbal Academy has a bunch of wonderful opportunities this summer to begin dabbling in the magic of herbs if you feel the call. Below are 4 of them:
FLOWER PRESSING FOR HERBALISTS WORKSHOP REOPENS FOR SUMMER
Dates:
June 11 - 20: Workshop Opens! Special offer: Save 20% on registration when upgrading your enrollment to include the gorgeous Field Flower Press. No coupon needed.
August 7: Enrollment closes for the year (this is a seasonal offering, and doors are only open for two months)!
Learn how to expertly press and beautifully preserve the plants growing outside your door. In this creative online workshop, you will learn how to press flowers, leaves, and other plant parts to preserve their color for years to come. Discover the materials you’ll need to get started with flower pressing, types of plant presses (including the beautifully engraved Field Flower Press that’s available as an add-on to this workshop), how to build your own press, and how to use your preserved botanicals to further your herbal studies and decorate your home with seasonal beauty.
3-PART SUMMER HERBAL HEALTH SERIES - LIVE!
Dates: Now - July 24
Sign up for one, or add all three Summer Herbal Health Series classes to your cart to SAVE $15 at checkout! Each live event will be recorded and participants will receive the replay, presentation slides, and any additional bonus recipes if applicable after class is over.
Live on June 17 at 4 p.m. EST: “Healthy Gut and Herbal Vulneraries: All About Digestion”
Live on July 10 at 4 p.m. EST: “Evaluating Diet: Eat Your Herbs”
Live on July 24 at 4 p.m. EST: “Finding Balance: Blood Sugar and Plants”
NATURAL DYES WORKSHOP REOPENS FOR SUMMER
Dates:
June 25 - July 2: Workshop Opens! Special offer: Upgrade your enrollment to include the Botanical Dye Kit, and receive othe Botanical Dye Plants Poster FREE at checkout (while supplies last).
August 7: Enrollment closes for the year (this is a seasonal offering, and doors are only open for about six weeks)!
In this self-paced and hands-on workshop for all skill levels, explore how to use the plants you already know and love, in a creative new way! From tie-dyeing to bundle dyeing and even learning how to dye with mushrooms, there are so many inspiring natural dye projects. You will learn exactly how to use dozens of natural elements to dye everyday items, including fabric, homemade cosmetics, paper, and more!
TINCTURE MAKING 101 MINI COURSE
Dates: Now - June 28: This seasonal course closes on June 28!
Just imagine row after row of amber and cobalt blue bottles lining the shelves of your herbal dispensary, each neatly labeled and filled with various shades of yellow, green, and brown herbal tinctures that you’ve crafted for a specific purpose. In the online, self-paced Tincture Making 101 Mini Course, we explore the craft of tincture making from the ground up, giving you a solid foundation that will prepare you to make, use, and formulate tinctures confidently!
Head: Library Books
In this month’s post I discussed ow I am diving into library books rather than boying books and my reading of Seven Steeples by Sara Baume. This beautiful book is the story of a couple, Bell and Sigh, who move to a remote cottage in the Irish countryside. It’s a story about devotion, disintegration, and resilience. It’s a story about relationship. It’s a story about awareness, nature, landscape, others, and self.
I found myself continuously reflecting on “stuff” while reading this book. Bell and Sigh only have what they brought with them to the cottage — only what they felt they needed and only what fit in their van. They acquire second hand furniture, furnishings, and clothes. They construct things they need from found objects.
As the house and things begin to fall apart they initially make do until a replacement or solution can be found. As time goes on, though, a shift occurs as they cease to make decisions and take action. They end up with one cup, one toothbrush, and one light bulb. And, then the light bulb burns out. Did they have plenty?
The number of cups in our kitchen is mind-blowing compared to Bell and Sigh. There are cups for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate; cups for cocktails, beer, wine, bourbon; cups for all other beverages. I can’t bring myself to count them.
Even with my renewed commitment to library books, I still probably have at least 50-books in my collection. This is way down from hundreds and hundreds of books I know I had at one point. My work books alone were a large majority of them. Most of my books have now gone to the Baltimore Book Thing, an amazing organization that puts books in the hands of those who want them. All the books are FREE.
I have read posts recently of people endeavoring to downsize to 100 items, even down to 50 items. And, posts about reverse decluttering. Thinking about a number of items isn’t going to work for me.
My brain clanged to : What items would I take if I had to flee? What items would I take if I moved abroad? This led me to settle on the question, what items are essential, enough, sufficient within my framework of living, behaving, being in the world to support a better life for all. This is the essential question I am working through.
Heart: Summer Solstice and Midsummer
In this month’s post I shared our family’s preparation and celebration of Summer Solstice and Midsummer. Most of our approach comes from our Irish and English traditions. The more I learn about the practices of my Kashubian ancestors, the more I see similarities. A festival of fire and water, sun and moon, abundance and fertility, happiness and joy. A focus on purification, herb and flower collecting, and bonfires.
Kashubians believed that the forces of light and the forces of dark were very powerful at this time. They took particular precautions to protect against evil. Beginning in the morning Kashubians decorated the house with herbs and twigs, especially maple. Women weaved wreaths. It was common to dress cattle and poultry with ribbons or wreaths of wildflowers. There were lots of charms for protecting livestock and warding off evil. In some villages, women gathered in the forest and lit a sacred fire with herbs to repel evil spirits. They drank vodka and danced until midnight.
The most interesting practice to me is the search for the mythical fern flower. This mythical fern flower that grew in thickets and wetlands took on various shapes and colors. It bloomed only for a moment, some say between eleven o'clock and midnight, others say just after midnight.
Not only was the fern flower hard to find but the search for it was dangerous. Witches, evil spirits, monsters, and more were all trying to keep the seekers from finding the fern. They’d try to get them lost and sometimes even capture them.
The one who finds the fern flower becomes rich, has excellent health, and lives a long life. There is always a consequence with this sort of thing - he will no longer be a good man. He will become proud and greedy. For more on the folklore around the mythical fern flower see: Polish Legends: The Fern Flower.
Final thought for this month:
FOR CELEBRATION Now is the time to free the heart, Let all intentions and worries stop, Free the joy inside the self, Awaken to the wonder of your life. Open your eyes and see the friends Whose hearts recognize your face as kin, Those whose kindness watchful and near, Encourages you to live everything here. See the gifts the years have given, Things your effort could never earn, The health to enjoy who you want to be And the mind to mirror the mystery. - John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us, page 175.
This month my hand, head, and heart practices provide an opportunity to continue to be the quirky family that has enough. To be the family that continues to strive to have enough, a sufficient amount so that our way of living, behaving, being in the world, and the choices we make supports a better life for all. And, as parents, to ensure our children have a framework to be able to make informed choices in their lives when they are living away from us.
Love,
Karen