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Esse quam videri, the motto of Appalachian State University (Boone, NC), is a phrase from Cicero’s writings meaning to be, rather than to seem (to be). I could not think of a better way of describing the town of Boone than through this University motto. Everything about this place and it’s people is genuine and sincere. The general good feeling and lack of anxiety I feel in Boone is tangible. Every experience I have had in Boone seems to be a secret message from the Universe to me.

So, that being said… GreenItup!, LLC, Teresa, Eric, Frankie & Verna are moving later this month to Boone, NC! That is GreenItUp!’s product is moving – the service is not. I will be working for this very cool and environmentally friendly company: http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/ They actually pay you to walk, bike or take public transportation to work! I will be in Mercantile with the candy, toys and Blenheims! It is located in the heart of downtown Boone – convenient to everything and across the street from Our Daily Bread (home of the best sandwich I have ever had) and a block from Proper (the best restaurant I have EVER been to).

Overall, NoVa has not been good to me. I really should have known better. Bruce Springsteen, the Cicero of our times, wrote (for Because the Night) that What I’ve got, I have earned / What I’m not, I have learned. I have learned that I am not made from whatever it is that the people here are cut from that enables them to survive in this environment of fast-paced living and slow traffic. I have figured out that here I cannot run with the big dogs so, I am going get back on the porch. (My porch, by the way, will be five minutes from downtown but deep in the woods with a creek running by it.)

That is not to say that I have not met lots of great people here. I could not have asked for better clients! I have become emotionally attached to each of them through their pictures, their homes, and especially their pets. (I don’t mean that to be creepy). I will sincerely miss you guys – especially little Eve who has completely bewitched me. I have considered buying matching plaid, flannel shirts for Eve and myself and taking her with me. I could curl up by the fire with her after a long day of hiking and banjo picking… But, I know that she is a big city girl who prefers pink to plaid…

If you find your way up to the High Country, come visit – as Doc would say, we’ll make you down a pallet on our floor…

Frankie’s Forever Home

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As I was walkin'
I saw a sign there
And that sign said no trespassin' 
But on the other side 
It didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Eric and I are submitting photos in the Lorton Workhouse Friends and Family Exhibition which will be on display (and for sale) from August 31st through September 25th. The opening reception will be Saturday September 3rd from 5-7PM. For more information on the show and other events see Eric's blog - Working on the Chain Gang

I have helped Eric develop negatives before, but I had never seen (much less participated in) the entire photo making process. We have a darkroom of sorts in the basement and we developed the film and printed the photos all by ourselves! It's a lot like making cleaner except there is much more complicated math and it is not nearly as 'green'.

Both photos were taken on an Agfa Click I camera using 6×6 120 film. Eric's was shot at Bridge, Pigeon Key, FL. Mine was taken while visiting the Morrisses at Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, OK. The sign in my image instantly made me think of Guthrie (the man not the Oklahoma town). You can see that the Bison are not at all worried about trespassing.

In the squares of the city
In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office
I see my people
And some are grumblin'
And some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Eric's photo: This Land Is Your Land                                                                             Teresa's photo: This Land Is My Land

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I spent the morning cleaning with my most handsome work pal, Toby. He sits in a window at the front of his house and recognizes me when I pull up. He gets so excited when I come in that has to chew on his bone – I think because he does not know what else to do with himself. When he finally settles down, he naps while I clean and accepts lots of love before I leave. And just like my Toby, his black & whites are so beautiful!

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Chloe, one of the most beautiful girls on my cleaning route, sits still long enough for me to take her picture. She is normally a complete spaz – overwhelmed with good-natured excitement and love! Her cuteness makes me laugh out loud at her. If you knew her, you would know that the expression on her face is complete confusion as to why she is not being petted.

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It is a beautiful day because I am off to clean with my favorite work buddy, Eve.

I took these photos of her on my phone the last time I saw her as proof for my stepson. I told him that sometimes I think she is even lovelier than my cat Verna (a.k.a the ‘Second Coming’ in our home). He did not believe – but then he saw her face / now he’s a believer / not a trace of doubt in his mind…

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GreenItUp! is back from vacation and will be at the Market this Saturday! I am actually looking forward to the low 90′s predicted for this Saturday after my blistering vacation. Come out and take advantage of the new “featured scent” available at discount. This week’s featured scent will be Sweet Orange.

Vacation Highlights: Tall Grass Preserve and roaming Bison in OK, the Cowboy Museum in OK, Andrea M.’s Mac’n'Cheese, cooling off with a Leninade (Get Hammered & Sickled) from Pop’s in OK, Project Nim (a documentary that was so moving I had to walk out on it), the Tattoo Museum in Baltimore, and the much needed and very enjoyable nap that came with watching the final Harry Potter installment (glad that is over and done with!). All of this in temperatures ranging from 103 to 114. Fun can be so painful!

An unplanned stop in our travels, however, has had the most impact on us. On our way back from OK we stopped in Joplin, MO. Although it has been two months since this town was nearly destroyed by a tornado, driving through the town you would think it had just been struck yesterday. Entire sections are only slabs. Trees are bare and short as bushes. Homes that still stand are either missing large sections or show holes where cars or business signs must have landed.

Row upon row of homes have insurance companies’ names or ‘FEMA’ spray painted on them. Worse, rows of houses show numbers spray painted to indicate how many people should be there versus how many bodies were found. Thirty miles outside of Joplin roofs are littered with debris. While some homes were untouched I could not help but wonder if their occupants still have jobs to go to. There is absolutely no way anyone in that town has anything remotely resembling a normal life or a life before the tornado.

My groans about the heat while vacationing are pathetic when I consider the daily life of people in Joplin. Eric and I are researching the best ways to help this town. After 9/11 and Katrina I am skeptical of charity – I want to make sure I am giving directly to people who need the money. I urge all of you to do the same. Joplin is no longer in the news, but they are still in complete crisis.

I don’t have a lot of money. My husband and I live month to month like almost everybody else. But when we look at our lives, there is always something that can be cut. The same is true with you, and you know it. There is always an excess that we can live without: a movie or dinner out that you can skip, an outfit or pair of shoes you don’t need to buy, or a book you can get at the library.

I am also struck with how absolutely criminal it is that members of Congress have proposed cutting relief to places like Joplin while maintaining tax cuts for the filthy (and I do mean filthy) rich. Be sure to contact your Senators and Representatives as the President suggested. Most of their websites are down right now from high traffic. Eric and I called them – it took about 10 minutes. They are expecting your calls.

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.’

- Matthew 25:41-46

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GreenItUp!’s Spring contest has come to an end. This week’s MultiPurpose winner is Carolyn B. of Fairfax. The winner of the free home cleaning is Andrea L. of Fairfax. Carolyn, come down to the Market tomorrow, July 9th, or Juy 30th to claim your prize. Andrea, please schedule with me for August or September.

Celebrate the 4th with fresh food from the Fairfax City Farmers’ Market! Also, check out my neighbor Courtney M. of Wildtree – yummy, all natural, quick foods.

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Love it or hate it, summer is here – full on in much of the country. Folks are headed to the beach, lake, carnival, camp – whatever it is, chances are it will be in the sun.

We know all of the rules for protecting our skin: apply an amount of sunscreen equal to a shot glass; anything over 30 SPF is a waste of your money; apply every two hours. We follow the rules, we sit under tents and umbrellas, we wear hats.

We do everything right and still skin cancer is on the rise. Turns out that most of the sun protection we use is far worse than the sunburns. Recent studies show that your sunscreen is actually causing the cancer. And lest you think this is trivial, skin cancer accounts for more than 50% of all cancers in the US.

Now before you decide to go and join up with the mutants in The Descent, let’s look at who has done the research, what they warn against, and what solutions they recommend. Record high Vitamin D deficiencies suggest many of us need more sun exposure. Feel stuck between cancer and cancer? You don’t have to pick your poison just yet.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has tested hundreds of sunscreens and found only 39 they would recommend. The problem is that most sunscreens contain chemicals that damage skin cells and cause cancer. Most notably, Vitamin A which in most lotions is harmless. An anti-aging property when used in night creams, Vitamin A behaves differently when exposed to sunlight and actually creates cancerous tumours.

When you go on the EWG’s site – which I strongly urge you to do – you will see that there are all kinds of helpful links. Check out the 9 Surprising Truths, the Hall of Shame sunscreens, and the Best Sunscreens. If you have children you absolutely must read this! The world is always the hardest on the small and innocent. Sunscreen is no exception. The EWG found that the worst of the worst sunscreens are the ones made for babies!

Luckily, there are safe sunscreens out there. Europeans already have them. The US sunscreen manufacturers are waiting on the FDA before they can market the European solutions to us. In the meantime, you will find a list of the safest available sunscreens on the EWG site.

But until the FDA comes through, find some shade and a cocktail this July 4th.

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GreenItUp! will not be at the Market this Saturday, so I am postponing the weekly and monthly drawing winners until next week. Eric and I are headed to Boone, NC tomorrow for the weekend. As luck would have it, we will be rolling into town just as the City of Boone unveils and presents a life-size sculpture of one of my all time favorites, Doc Watson. (There will be photos!)

We are on the move a lot in July so I want to go ahead and list my Market dates for folks needing refills:

July 2nd, July 9th, July 30th

Sorry for any inconvenience.

We pick up my handsome stepson, Griffin,  in Boston next week and a week later head to Ponca City, OK to visit friends Andrea and Mike M.. (I finally get to break out my Stetson without being the ‘weird girl in the Stetson’.) Jenny P. comes to visit for a long weekend that will include a hike and camp at Old Rag in the Shenandoah National Park. If you have not been there – GO!

With August my nose returns to the grindstone and I should be at the Market each weekend.  See you then!

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Question left on my voicemail:

Hi Teresa, I bought some of your cleaning product – the lemon fragrance. Anyway, I just had a question. I realized after I used the cleaner on my carpeted steps that boric acid is toxic to cats, and didn’t you say that boric acid was used in it? Can you let me know?

Lauren

Fairfax, VA

Dear Lauren,

Thank you for your question and for your concern for cats. Borax – NOT boric acid – is an ingredient in my cleaner. These two compounds are chemically different. Often both Borax and boric acid are used as an insect repellant. I use it myself that way – see my previous blog on killing ants. A lot of people sprinkle the Borax all over their floors when using it in this way (which I do NOT recommend). In that form and for long periods of time, exposure to Borax could be unhealthy for you and your pets, just as any product used in this manner could be, and just as many products can be toxic to you and your pets if you are continuously exposed to them.

In any event, Borax in powder form is far less toxic than the vast majority of commercial cleaners on the market, especially those containing ammonia or bleach, which are highly toxic regardless of your level of exposure.

Borax is one ingredient in my cleaner. It is also not in powder form in my product and is heavily diluted. If used for its purpose and as you would any other cleaner, my cleaner is not toxic to you or your pets. That said, if you or your pet were to ingest large quantities of my cleaner or be in continuous contact with it by mouth or eyes, you may have side effects. I would use the ASPCA’s guide for poison control as a guide. When asked if Borax was toxic to cats, they replied:

As with any household cleaner, it is important to follow the product label instructions to ensure that you are using it appropriately. Provided it’s acceptable for use as a floor cleaner, and you dilute it according to the label as well as let the area dry thoroughly, we would not expect problems for your cat reentering the area.

My oldest cat just turned 17 earlier this month. I can assure you that I would never expose her or your cat to anything that would harm them.

Happy Cleaning,

Teresa

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