A 3 year journey changed my life

It's 6:08 on Friday night. Most of my day was spent on the computer or phone. By the end of my work day I was tired and stiff. My husband called on his way home asked if I was taking the dogs for a run. I mumbled something about 6 out of 7 days a week was plenty and I thought I would take the night off. Dallas due to his 19 years of wisdom, as my husband, suggested I should take the dogs for thier walk. Oh, did I mention it is pouring rain outside???

We, me and the dogs, just got back from a wet, refreshing and fast run in the rain. It was amazing! I feel like a new person. Years ago I was having some trying times with my health. One day I told my sister I was going to walk/run at least 15 minutes everyday for a year.

I ended up doing this daily routine for over 3 years never missing a day. Occasionally, I would have to hop out of bed and walk in place for 15 minutes because I forgot, but most days I went outside.

I ran/walked in the rain, the dark, the cold, the windy, the sunny, the heat, if I was sick, tired or lazy- it didn't matter I did it everday.

During this 3 year plus time I not only regained my health but I found how important it was to my health, happiness and awareness of the seasons. It was the most valuable 3 years of my life- it was life altering. Somedays, I just walked, some I ran, some I did both. I only had to do it for 15 minutes, most days I did more. Being outside, in the fresh air, does something beneficial to you, you just can't measure.

Tonight, I remembered some of those lessons, plus the feeling of freedom and pure joy from running wildly in the pouring rain.

The residue of my computer and office work is long gone, I feel great and both dogs are very happy this evening!

Happy running,
Denise

Accumulation of residue goes wild!!

Residue come in many different forms. In cleaning, most times residue can be tracked down to cleaning products, soil and hard water deposits. In life, residue is a little more creative. Today I started the day with a backed up shower drain. This was not on my to-do list. As I was playing around trying to coax the water back down where it belongs I had a little time to think about residue.

Apparently residue not only sticks to your shower walls but your skin, oils, hair, shampoos, hard water deposits, soaps, body and face washes also accumulate in your shower drains. As write this of course it makes perfect since but until my drain backed up this morning, I'll be honest, I hadn't given the residues in my drain much thought.

Residue is one of those little topics we just don't think about until it backs up and spills all over us. Today, as I was running around I realized stress is a form of residue. If let stand and not flushed, rinsed or dried off, stress builds up in our bodies just like the muck in my shower drain.

Before your drain backs up, consider rinsing out the stress in your body. You don't want to wait until your drain spills black sludge all over your day.

May you have happy and healthy homes,
Denise

Lasagna Gardening takes root

Years ago I had a neighbor, Dianna, who recommended I try lasagna gardening. She thought this type of gardening and I would be a perfect match. I didn't start lasagna gardening then but its seed was firmly planted.

What is lasagna gardening? I'll let Patricia Lanza explain it in her own words. ( Patricia is the author of Lasagna Gardening)

"Lasagna Gardening is a nontraditional, organic, layering method you can use to create better soil while keeping your gardens neat and attractive. ... Based on a commonsense approach and readily available natural ingredients, lasagna gardening is an easy, time-saving way to install and maintain any kind of garden without removing the sod, digging or tilling. Close planting and generous mulching greatly reduce the time needed for watering and weeding. And because of the healthy growing environment, lasagna gardens are plagued with fewer garden pests."


For me lasagna gardening is an intriguing idea filled will possibilities. To the west of my house, we have a patch of land. It has maybe 1-2 inches of top soil, below that a nice bed of rocks. This is not the ideal setting for a garden. The area does have some good points -sunshine and close proximity to the water spicket. This horrible soil is where I'm experimenting with my first lasagna bed. If I can grow a garden here you can grow one any where!

The idea of using waste from my home and yard and creating healthy soil is as old as dirt. This is what lasagna gardening does. Gathering up organic waste and using it as the foundation on which to rebuild soil. Layering newspaper, leaves, grass, compost, peat moss, chopped plants, straw, hay, manure, sawdust, seaweed, wood ashes, coffee grounds and stone dust to create a sheet composting system. Fantastic!

This is residue free gardening at its best. Building healthy Eco-systems and minimizing waste!

My experiment starts this fall. This month I'll be collecting matterial and building my beds. Our home is a buzz with excitment!!!

Happy and healthy homes,
Denise