I talk to the trees
-
Posts
3,073 -
Joined
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by I talk to the trees
-
-
For the spinner in your life: (Note that this comes in a glow in the dark option- because who doesn’t love spinning in the dark? 😂)
-
2
-
1
-
-
I’m a little late to the party, but Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Literally everyone in my family has some kind of food/health/allergy related issue, so instead of having a big dinner, we had coffee and (limited ingredient) scones and went for a trash pickup walk along a nearby riverside walk. It was lovely, and sunny, and relaxing! Definitely going to do it again next year if the weather cooperates!
-
1
-
-
42 minutes ago, Bootsie said:
What does she consider "zero waste"? There are manhy things that may not generate trash that the end-user disposes of, but create a lot of trash or damage to the environment during the production and distribution process.
bar soap and shampoo that is unwrapped or wrapped in paper
herbs or other plants in compostible pots
upcycled cotainers, soil/compost material, and seeds
potholders and cleaning cloths made out of old cloths, towels, and t-shirts
resusable coffee filter, reusable snack bags, reusable containers good for freezing leftover foods, crocheted produce bag
You posted while I was typing! Yes to the bar soap and shampoo! That is a switch she has already made, and she can always use more!
-
1
-
-
20 hours ago, Alice said:
-Experiences (see a play, go to a concert, take a hike, some kind of adventure, etc)
-Food
-Books- Not really zero waste but you can pass them on to other people
-Some kind of high quality clothing that lasts a long time (wool sweaters, really good socks, mittens/hats, etc)
-If she wants zero waste I'd think about things she needs and get her something that is higher quality than she might get herself
-Dh just got our middle son a set of portable utensils, it's very cool and comes in a tiny cute box. It's to keep with him so he can avoid using plastics places. A good thermos is also useful for that kind of thing.I’m going to knit her a sweater with the yarn/pattern of her choice. Waiting to see what our LYS does on Black Friday. Bamboo utensil set going in stocking!
20 hours ago, Kareni said:Candles! She can admire them for a time and then burn them.
Regards,
Kareni
Good idea! Maybe I can find a local beekeeper who makes them!
19 hours ago, Innisfree said:If she’s at all creative, she might enjoy visible mending, which takes basic darning and mending skills and transports them to the level of artwork. It’s a good way to extend the useful life of clothing and other textiles. I followed the young woman who wrote this book on Twitter; I haven’t bought her book yet, but the examples she posted were lovely. She doesn’t sell through Amazon, but through her own website.
https://www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mending/book-visible-creative-mending-for-knitwear
Boy, did I go down a rabbit hole with this one! (Mrs. Claus may put this in her own stocking, along with this mending loom.)
19 hours ago, lewelma said:My city has a kombucha bar. You buy the bottle only once and then bring it back to get it refilled. Lots of different flavours, and it is made in the back room.
Alas! No such delicious option is available in our city. Booooo!
19 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:Stainless steel straws? They even make folding ones that have a little travel case and fit in a small purse. Would make a nice stocking stuffer.
My mother beat me to this a few years ago. She has a set and a cute little carrying case!
19 hours ago, Faith-manor said:Swedish dish towels
Museum membership
Homemade pancake and biscuit mixes in glass jars
Produce basket given in a laundry basket which can then continue to be reused maybe include some nice local honey in a glass jar or ceramic jug
Houseplant in a nice, permanent pot with drainage
Practical tool like a drill
Cloth napkins
<smacks head> Plants! Of course! She is always saying she wants to have a little potted herb garden!
11 hours ago, Laura Corin said:Does she do yoga/pilates? A natural rubber mat plus a sustainable cotton bag for it? I have a rubber mat that I like.
She has a yoga mat, but a cotton carrying bag is a great idea!
8 hours ago, Beth S said:For our young adult children, I just do creative cash gifts.
You can hide $1 bills all around the living room, make them into origami, or google some other creative way to gift money.You can re-use gift bags & other things around the house as the containers for the cash.
Can’t go wrong with $$!
8 hours ago, MEmama said:Would she enjoy a pillow of her favorite pet/s? I know a person... 😉
Going to PM you on that one!
2 hours ago, ***** said:Wool dryer balls
Wooden handled brushes, toothbrushes...and other earth friendly healthier products such as toothpaste, lotions...
Movie or theater tickets or entry to other events
Gift cards to juice bars or other natural food restaurants, etc.
We have a store that sells very nice items out of reclaimed materials. These are all made by women in Africa , so it's a win-win to buy from here. I once bought a cool wallet made out of bicycle tires. Very nice quality. Look on Etsy if you don't have a similar store in your area.
Dryer balls and laundry strips. Very good idea!
1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:I have that book too, and love it! I really love the Laine St Pierre darning wool—you can buy packets of it off of etsy in specific color lots. It is somewhat hard to find in the US; we don’t have much of a culture of mending. It is the only thing I will use to mend wool garments. A darning loom ($15ish on amazon) is also really helpful for mending larger holes.
Found some adorable darning/mending looms from Katrinkles. Probably going to pick up one for both of us!
Ok, y’all! With hive help, I am about to wipe out dd’s birthday and Christmas shopping! And we haven’t even started the annual “Unique Gift” thread yet! 😁
-
8
-
-
Great ideas, guys! I don’t know about dd, but I may wind up with a copy of that visible mending book! 😉
-
1
-
-
DD (22)'s birthday is rapidly approaching, (and so is Christmas!) and I have no gift, and no idea what to get. She has only asked that any birthday and/or Christmas gifts this year be as close to zero waste as possible, or at least supports a sustainable/eco-friendly/small business. I am at a loss. Hit me with your best ideas, oh great hive that buzzes with wisdom!
-
That’s awful!!! Thanks for the info, though!
-
1
-
-
🎉 Congrats!
-
12 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:
Red Dwarf is awesome.
YES!
Dh, Dd, and I have been known to spontaneously break out into “Tongue Tied”. I also have a home video of dd at the age of 3 asking to hear the “fun, fun song” and doing her impression of the Cat. Yeah, we’re super-geeky Dwarfers here!
-
3
-
-
19 hours ago, mommyoffive said:
Three takeaways from this article:
1) Masks work in more ways than one.
2) When a mom says “You’ll catch your death of cold if you don’t bundle up out there!” they are at least partially right.
3) Yes, yes I do need that lovely, hand-dyed skein of merino yarn to make myself a cozy cowl to keep my nose warm!
-
3
-
3
-
-
Someone needs to explain to these folks that Doctor Who (specifically, the episode Partners in Crime) is fictional and NOT a documentary! 🤪
-
5
-
1
-
5
-
-
Got Covid and flu vax last Friday. I spent the weekend nursing chills and a very nasty headache, but all was well and back to normal this morning!
-
3
-
-
Neither dd(22), dh, or myself has had it that we know of. We (happy mask or n95) mask indoors in public, but not outdoors. Although if I were in a large group outdoors, I would. I have asthma and dh is on an immunosuppressant, so this is just the new normal for us and while a little annoying, it’s really no big deal. He works from home and my volunteer stuff is virtual, so that has certainly been a factor in us staying healthy.
We have both had the updated vaccine.-
4
-
-
3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:
Q: COVID. RSV. What other new vaccines are coming? (substack.com)
Wow, I didn't know the one for Lyme was coming!! Yay.
I have been telling my vet for years that she was welcome to “accidentally “ slip and stick me with the dogs’ Lyme vaccines! 😄 I’d enjoy romping with the pups in the great outdoors if I were vaccinated!
-
1
-
1
-
-
Bumping this, because I’m kind of curious myself.
-
1
-
-
Neither meme nor joke, really, but someone in my rescue group posted this today, and I thought many here could relate:
It breaks my heart to write this…..but I’m looking to rehome my children, ages 16 and 19. Honestly, I didn’t do enough research about having kids before making this commitment & they just don’t fit into mine & my dog’s schedules anymore. The dogs and I are so busy. Also, the kids are starting to have behavioral issues that they never had as newborns & we’ve tried everything to work through these issues but it’s not improving & we just can’t have this much of a liability in our home anymore. They are ruining my marriage due to stress, waking me up early & tearing up my house, ruining my furniture, my walls, everything. They are potty trained and extremely treat motivated, but neither one listens to commands very well. Also, we’re moving & have found a home with a lot of room for the dogs but just couldn’t find one with enough bedrooms for these kids. It saddens me (please no judging or negative comments) and I am aware of how much emotional damage this will be on them & probably never fully recover from being abandoned but it’s just the circumstance we’re dealing with but please PM me if interested. There is a re-homing fee because I want to make sure that they get a good home!
yours sincerely,
Every Dog Rescue on the planet.
-
3
-
6
-
-
That sounds like a nightmare! Moving without complications is a PITA at best, but with everything you have dealt with, I’m not surprised you want to call it a day! I am so sorry you’re dealing with all this garbage!
-
1
-
-
Dh had the Pfizer last Friday. Other than a headache for a couple days, he had no reaction.
I am scheduled for Moderna tomorrow morning. I had a mild headache and a very sore arm last time, but the arm thing was probably my fault. I hate needles, and I know I tensed up a lot. 🤦♀️
-
3
-
-
Absolutely, yes, I would! But as other posters have mentioned, only if I had the budget for the vet bills. Boy, that photo you posted sure is cute! I’d have a tough time walking away from that one!
I posted here on the night we brought home a lovely little 11 year old sheltie girl, wondering if I had made a mistake. That pup was the easiest dog I have ever had: Perfectly housebroken, angelic disposition, walked on a loose lead from day one. She was my Velcro girl for a little over 5 years. 💕🐾💕🐾 Dang! I miss that dog!-
6
-
-
1 hour ago, kbutton said:
I don’t have much luck posting from FB, and I can’t generate a quote box in my phone, but here goes:
**********
From Kristina Dawn’s public post…
I posted this on a private professional group I am in and was asked by several people to post this to my personal page and make it public so they could share it with other medical professionals, family, and friends. So here is my take, as a psychologist, on this new trend of some physicians diagnosing people who take precautions regarding Covid with "Covid anxiety" or somatoform disorders (which is really out of left field and doesn't even make sense and I do not have time to even explain how this doesn't fit):Taking precautions for Covid is not a mental health diagnosis or disorder.
As a psychologist it really upsets me when physicians diagnose mental health conditions without referral or consultation with a provider specifically trained in mental health diagnosis.
I understand the need for a PCP to diagnose anxiety and depression due to shortages, wait times, etc so the patient can begin medication therapy. However, if the patient is not complaining of symptoms of a mental health disorder and the physician thinks they may have a mental health disorder, a referral is necessary. Taking precautions regarding Covid is not diagnostic, by itself, to diagnose ANY mental disorder. If a patient is complaining of anxiety and depression symptoms, related or unrelated to Covid, a referral is still warranted because medication alone is not best practice. Medication plus therapy is.
Psychologists are trained specialists in mental illness. Just like a cardiologist is trained in disorders of the heart. We go to school just as many years as other providers and are required to complete an internship and residency just like other providers. This is our field.
A physician who is not a trained mental health provider should never diagnose somatoform disorders, malingering, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc or give diagnoses of anxiety and depression to patients without consultation. Too many times I have had a patient sent to me with a diagnosis of treatment resistant depression or anxiety who had medical disorders like thyroid disease that were untreated because the physician didn’t look for anything beyond what appeared to them to be anxiety or depression. I have even had times I’ve seen patients in the hospital diagnosed with dementia who had a simple UTI that was missed and left untreated. Please leave mental health to the professionals trained in that area. Especially in a situation such as this.
This response is not meant to dismiss the wonderful work of PCPs, family physicians, or any other physician. Medicine is hard work. However, specialists exist for a reason and psychology is medicine. Mental illness is all we do. It’s our training and our sole focus in our career. We are absolutely better qualified to diagnose mental health conditions than any physician with the exception of a psychiatrist. At a minimum a consultation should be done.
Covid anxiety is not a mental health diagnosis. Period. Full stop. If other mental health professionals on this forum want to debate that with me I’m open to that debate. To diagnose someone who is engaging in mitigation strategies to avoid a virus that has killed, sickened, and disabled millions and created a pandemic that is ongoing is akin to diagnosing someone who stops smoking with lung cancer anxiety. Or a someone who uses sunscreen with skin cancer anxiety. Or someone who eats organically with GMO anxiety. I could go on here but I think you get the point.
What we are actually seeing is a trauma response. People who are trying to stay safe are not mentally ill, however many of them (not all) do suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression due to the ongoing pandemic, lack of safety in their environment, gaslighting from family, friends, the government, and medical providers, witnessing death and illness for over 3 years, loss of family and friends, moral injury, loneliness, isolation (imposed upon them by society), and a lack of support. These things are traumatic.
The issues people are facing, the mental health challenges, are not due to “Covid anxiety”. Wearing a mask, taking precautions, or refusing to put yourself in a high-risk situation is not a mental illness. It is self-preservation and it takes a hell of a lot of strength to continue to do that after 3 plus years, constant ridicule and abuse, and in the face of such backlash from society as a whole.
I hope what I have said makes sense and has not offended any medical professionals in this group. And to those who would say I am biased because I am among those who are Covid cautious, I say to you, I am not biased, I am science based and evidence based in my practice and my life. Show me the research if you think I’m wrong. None exists. There is zero empirical evidence of Covid anxiety as a diagnosis for people taking precautions. There’s plenty of research to explain the response of those refusing to take precautions, however. There is also a huge amount of research regarding the dangers of Covid, both in the acute phase and the post-infection phase. I am more than happy to share that research.
Precautions, such as wearing a mask, are a sign of strength, not anxiety, during a pandemic. I challenge everyone to think about why this has become such a heated topic. Wearing a mask does not prevent any activity in one's life except eating in a restaurant. We do not have to be here. We choose to be. Stop scapegoating those who refuse to bend to peer pressure and continue to try to protect themselves and others and celebrate their strength instead.
********
Thank you so much for posting this! It does my weary spirit good to know that there *are* professionals out there who still believe in science-based behaviors. (None to be found in my neck of the woods, though! 😞)
-
5
-
2
-
-
Awwww, what a cutie!
Is Riker too trekkie?
-
1
-
-
I am so sorry!
-
-
It sounds delicious to me, but I am a cilantro lover! Letting the flavors blend overnight would probably "soften" the effect of the cilantro. If you're planning to serve it to a group, you may want to leave it out though, because I understand some people think cilantro tastes like soap. (Or you can just send the whole batch to me! Thanks in advance! 😋)
Anyone else lost friends post-covid?
in The Chat Board
Posted
Yes, sadly. My irl circle was very small to begin with, and I have recently realized that my worldview does not fit in at all with this particular group of women. It’s politics, and religion (which are pretty much the same thing in my neck of the woods), and Covid, and public health, and climate change, and science in general, really. 😞I still keep in touch with 1-2 of the women, but the others seem to be perfectly content to push any and all folks who are different out of the group. Somewhere during the past 4 years, people have just become more permissive about rudeness and hostility towards others.