29 April 2011

TOOTHBRUSHES

A few weeks ago a post on Simple Green Frugal Co-Op mentioned replaceable head toothbrushes as a more environmentally sound option to always disposing of the whole brush. I've thought about getting one before, but it's always seemed like quite a commitment - what if I don't like the style of the brush? Anyway, I checked out the comments on the post and there were some other suggestions - notably The Environmental Toothbrush. The handle is made of plantation bamboo and is thus fully biodegradable. Also, it comes in a pack of 12 for $36 . . . with free shipping within Australia. I ordered some!

They arrived today, and I've brushed my teeth once. The soft bristles are fine, the size of the head is OK (not too big - I have such a small mouth that sometimes I prefer to use kids toothbrushes!), the handle feels nice to hold. If I remember, I'll let people know how the brush holds up over the coming months.

Here are some photos (low quality from my computer!) of the big un-wrap!

The Environmental Toothbrush (1)

The Environmental Toothbrush (2)

The Environmental Toothbrush (3)

The Environmental Toothbrush (4)

The Environmental Toothbrush (5)

The Environmental Toothbrush (6)

18 April 2011

WITH ROBE AND BOWL

I stumbled on a great post the other day while doing some link-hopping. With Robes and Bowl on the Cotswold Way: My First English Tudong is a piece by Ajahn Manapo, an English Buddhist monk, recounting his tudong in the English countryside.
I could go tudong – that’s what I could do. But where would I go? Would I get fed? Where would I sleep? How would I be treated? These are precisely the questions that are meant to remain unanswered as a tudong monk hauls his alms-bowl and robes onto his shoulders, and – carrying neither food nor money – steps out of his monastery and into uncertainty.

I really like the very reflective but also very present account of the journey - how the obstacles and frustrations he encounters serve as seeds from which his reflections on his mind, body and spirituality grow and bloom. (I also like that he's the same age as me!)
The second reason [to go tudong] concerns a particular characteristic which pervades the tudong experience: uncertainty. I didn’t know if I would eat, where I would sleep, what dangers I might encounter on the journey. Living in this way not only sharpens your faculties, it brings you face to face with a reality that is ever-present but towards which we are usually blind when living a settled life. That reality is uncertainty. Although we presume things will continue as they always have: that we will eat tomorrow, that we will work tomorrow, and even that we will wake up tomorrow, there is no guarantee that these things will happen. Ensnared by the delusion of certainty we live at odds with the true nature of things, whereby we form attachments – creating a constant source of tension – and set ourselves up just to fall. To open up to uncertainty; to confront it; to live it, is another reason why I went tudong.

Anyway, I thought I would share the link in case anyone else was interested.

14 April 2011

TWITTER

You can now follow us on Twitter - see the link in the column to the right!

WILD FOOD RECIPIES, AN ONGOING COLLECTION?

Over at terralectualism they made made dandelion wine! This is definitely something to keep in mind alongside the pickled wild onions I made last year.