Ah, phooey. I'll crosspost.

So anyway, I read this post about this book, The End of Food by Thomas F. Pawlick. I haven't even read the book yet, but I did order it, along with a few others, because I think I need to read it after reading that review.

I'm all for everyone having a garden, after all. But it's the bigger picture that I'm wondering about now.

I've been toying around with the idea of eating locally, or trying to, and I worked my garden plans this year around what I want to eat and what will be in season when. Or at least that was the idea. Once I started thinking about eating seasonally, if not locally, then things started to make more sense.

Obviously, to eat seasonally, you'd really have to plan a bit ahead. And I might start doing that this year; I'm also all for not spending lots of money at the grocery store, especially on things that I can grow myself. And I'm okay with only eating things in season--I don't buy store tomatoes, after all; I only eat them fresh off the vine. So all I have to do (it sounds so simple!) is expand from there.

But aside from eating (and I'm sure I'll get back there in a moment,) I've also been experimenting with natural other things, like shampoo, lip balm, and face scrubs. I've found all of this stuff on Etsy, of course. And so far, I'm happy with my purchases.

(All in all, it ends up costing me maybe a tiny bit more because of shipping. But that's okay, because I can understand all of the ingredients in what I'm putting on my head or on my face!)

This stemmed from my face becoming very, very dry while using a Burt's Bees face cream in the shower. It was so dry that I had to lather on the lotion, which led to pimples, which led to me wondering if there was just something else I could use.

Which led me to Etsy, and Dress Green, where I purchased some sample sugar scrubs (I could eat Snow Day; it smells so good) and some face cream. I have since bought a larger tub of Snow Day and some lip lushes too. I also got some shampoo from Spazspun, which makes my hair very soft and smells lovely, and some lip balm from Iva Art, who has lip balm made with real chocolate chips! I mentioned the lavender body butter a few posts down, but it warrants another mention here--such wonderful stuff.

So anyway, for the past three days, my face has been soft and my skin has looked a lot better. I used the shampoo for the first time today, and it will take a bit to get used to since it's not as thick as I'm used to, but I think I will end up liking it a lot.

(I got some fabulous lotion from Right As Rain Creations, too--definitely something I will buy again.)

But anyway, this started to remind me of when I used to make my own lip balm, and when I started considering making lotions and scrubs, etc. I tried to remember just when that was, but since I didn't keep a journal back then, it's hard to say. I think it was at least 10 years ago when I first came across 'homemade' lotion and body butters and lip balm. That would have been 1997, so it could very well have been.

I ordered some supplies on the internet, like sweet almond oil and the lip balm containers, and I made and sold lip balm at the craft show that year. I ended up with a lot leftover, but my experiments also pushed me away from Chapstick, which is really not that great to use (but was what I had been using before then.) I enjoyed making it, and I bought a few books to make other things, like shampoos and such, but then Life Happened, and I think I ended up selling my supplies and my books on ebay in the first Great Ebay Purge after I moved to Columbus in 1999.

So I do realize that I could make this stuff myself. And maybe eventually I will, but for the moment, I would rather pay someone else to make it for me. I'm not sure what I would do without Etsy!

And in that roundabout way, as I researched make-your-own laundry detergent (without the detergent) and the million uses for vinegar, I started reading more about eating locally, and wondering how that would work in a world where nearly everything is available year-round.

You may remember my post about how Clementines were available year-round last year. I'm against that--they tasted like cardboard anyway, so it wasn't worth the trouble, but what's wrong with enjoying something once a year, and enjoying it so much that you end up buying a few boxes?

From that original book review, I came across Local Harvest, which lists farmer's markets, CSA's, and the like, where you can buy locally produced foods. I was skeptical at first, because I didn't expect to find anything, but I was wrong.

Not only are there relatively local CSA's, there are also local meat sources, too. Which means that I could--conceivably--seriously consider the 'eat local' mandate, as well as 'eat seasonally' too. Hmm.

There would be preparations I'd have to make to do this, like purchase a grow light so I could have lettuce year-round for salads, and such, and I'd definitely have to be more organized in my planning, cooking, canning, and freezing of stuff.

The hardest part would be grain, as in wheat, as in flour. I wonder what other people who are dedicated to eating locally do about that?

There will be more on this later, I'm sure. Especially after I read that book. :)

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