November 2
Today, I finally bought my son some winter boots. They are Bogs. These boots do him well. They keep his feet warm in winter even when he goes on walks through the marsh or wades in creeks in the winter. He teaches me a lot about just being in nature, whatever the weather and he’s like an otter when water is around. A great part of this is that we provide him with gear that can take that sort of play. The Bogs work. And this year, I thought I’d buy my first pair of actual winter boots in years. I often just bundle up my hiking boots. These work to a point, but they have horrible treads for ice. So, hopefully, Bogs for me too, though the store didn’t have any adult ones. As for the price, these boots get passed down to his best friend, and if they last, his best friend’s brother. Like all his clothes. I feel pretty good here: 90% of my son’s clothes come from a second hand consignment store. And then, if they last, they see another two boys through before being passed on again. I could improve on the pants that get ripped or the shirts whose stains won’t come out.
I got my Dad’s walker handle fixed, today. $10 repair at Wellwise. That made his life much better and was done in 10 minutes. I also bought some new masks as I seem to be using the disposable ones at the Environment Centre overly much and with winter coming on, our noses will be running more as we go from inside to out and back again. I have been admiring others masks that fit their nose and face better than mine seem to. And these are adjustable. I could have done better here with my choice in terms of both playfulness (they are just plain) and manufacture location. When I got them home, I found out they were made in China. That’s what this journal is for: allowing me the space to reflect on things so that, next time, I can make a choice that better fits my worldview.
I made inroads on reducing plastic today! I brought the greenhouse in from the yard where it had fallen down last night in the winds. This will house my Winter Greens Garden. I carefully collected all the dirt from the pots where plants had not made it and put it in a bag of topsoil. I think I will search for a container with a lid to put the dirt in, so I can recycle it through the winter. That was one issue that bothered me when I tried this, briefly, another time. If you compost the dirt remaining after you have harvested some of the plants, then you have to buy more, which just isn’t right. In the summer, of course, dirt is easy to get from outside, and, quite frankly, that’s where it stays because the garden is outside. In the winter, though, it’s much harder. So, having a small dirt recycling/compose bin might work well here.
At the end of the day, I turned my phone off at dinner and put it somewhere away from the table. I intentionally focused on family discussion and on letting go of distraction. A good choice.
Outside the Box: reflections on living and learning sustainably 