February Kiva Loan

I've decided to loan $25 to the Sueños De Emprendedores Group in Temuco,Chile.
The Sueños De Emprendedores Group are raising money to start a bakery in Nuevo Imperial.

Accountability Sesson #1

Well, let's see, here it is the last day of January. What have I done with these resolutions so far?

1)Haven't added any silver yet. Made some bids on Ebay when it was hovering around $17.50. -

2.I've signed up for a Master's Beekeeping course through the County Extension. +

3.Continuing to talk with Rev.Kwasi about fisheries but need to go visit Growing Power in February.

4.Weight is the same.

5.I've written about 25 haiku this month, and I've been published on Haiku News at http://www.wayfarergallery.net/haikunews/?p=1040

6. I've signed up with Transformative Language and am slowly learning Italian one word a day via a nice e-mail.

7.Haven't bought that Kalimba yet.

8.Have not been to that Matrix training yet. It comes to Chicago later in the Spring.

9.Funny thing, I ran into a retired electrical engineer on Friday who is in to all kinds of alternatice energy schemes. He has agreed to be a mentor on the magnetic generator.

10.Smiling is much easier this year than last.

11. We've been eating the greens when we remember to buy them.

12.I was doing great with this until I got hit with the flu and have been downing ginger ale ever since.

13.No home brews brewing yet.

14. Made a kiva loan in December and in January, so I'm track with this one.

Number Fourteen: Make more Kiva Loans

I've been interested in micro loans for almost thirty years now and have made small loans to about 10 people or cooperatives in Asia, Africa, and South America through Kiva.

I hope to make a small $25 loan each month this year to someone in Ecuador or Bolivia. I worked with Trickle Up in the Philippines when I worked with Habitat and I have to say that I'm more impressed with the level of support that Kiva gives.

Number Thirteen: Home Brew

Yippee!Northern Brewer has opened a store in town! My best friend was a home brewer and specialized in Pale Ales. He was always a trend setter,but when it came to home brewing,I actually started before him.

Back in the early 80's I dabbled in wine,nothing too serious,a couple of kits ordered out of a seed catalog. As I recall,the kits made a nice little wine, the problem was that I couldn't resist drinking it when I would start to rack. Needless to say, I didn't wait for a mature wine.

So, here I am 25 years later, and it's time I started brewing again, if for no other reason than to honor my fallen comrade. My pal onced brewed a fine dry mead, and I think that I'd like to give mead a try.

Yet another link to an earlier resolution, this time linking to my interest in bees.

We'll see.

Number Twelve: Cut out the soft drinks

Funny after a certain point one starts to notice how one resolution might have a positive impact others. I'm cutting out my cokes this year. Gasp! Yeah, I know, I've tried before, but this is the time I'm succeeding.

While I'm not sure my mother put coke in my bottle as an infant, I wouldn't doubt it. I remember going over to a friend's house and being served warm coke from one of those killer 6oz bottles and saltines when I was five. So, I know I've been on the Dope for at least 45 years. For the uninitiated,folks from a certain generation in the south referred to coca cola as "dopes".


So, how will cutting out cokes positively impact other resolutions? By cutting out cokes I will be able to buy one or two silver coins (resolution one) each month on the money saved each month,and I will absolutely lose weight (resolution 4) by not ingesting all the high fructose corn syrup in a coke. Forget the diet sodas, they even more evil.

Evil? Funny how evil turns up when mentions coke to some folk. Is coke as bad as many think? Yeah,probably. But to be fair, a chemist answers whether Coke is really evil.

Knowing my addiction to coke, this will be a huge challenge to keep.

Number Eleven: Eat More Turnip Greens

MMMM, New Year's Day and the smell of turnip greens and black eyed peas is wafting through the house. In the south we always say you have to eat black eyed peas on New Year's day for luck and the greens for money.

My lovely Wisconsin wife has mastered the essentials of southern cuisine. Her corn bread is tastier than my mom's (who doesn't have internet access so I'm safe in saying that), and today we're feasting on a mélange of turnips and collards served with Hopping John. Yum.

I've been thinking that turnips should appear on our weekly menu more often. I bought a bunch yesterday for 49 cents. Adding more greens can make a significant dent in the food budget. They are inexpensive and healthier than just about any thing you eat. Turnips are a veritable vitamin store in green leafy goodness, filled with vitamins K,A,C,Bs,and E to name just a few. Here's more information on turnips than you probably want to know

I used to sell turnip and mustard seed for about 50 cents an ounce. In the south the greens would grow well into the winter. I'll be adding them to our garden in the spring.

Do your body a kindness, eat more turnips.