Bad Economy Humor

Terrible, but kinda realistic (click on the pic above to read a larger version)... xoxo

Article by the Asheville Disclaimer.

Asheville Street Style

Hey Ya'll! Check out my pictures in the Mountain Xpress, in the Asheville Street Style section...
xoxo

Reason #162 Why I Belong In The Woods

Cause that is where I am packed and ready to go! Time for some rural living...

What's your dream place to live? Describe it in detail!

XOXO

Used 80's Pumps, A Gift From Sought Vintage

I love purple - it is my most favorite color in all existence and it is very rare you find anything made in the true shade of purple these vintage 80's pumps are! These were sent to me by my very good friend who owns the cute, funky, fabulous shop SOUGHT VINTAGE on etsy. The condition is flawless, the size is perfect, and now I finally have myself some purp shoes to go with the only purp shirt and belt I've been able to find. Yay!

PS - This is the same awesome friend 'Sandy' who raised the question of whether any of us would F president Obama (which seemed to be a unanimous 'yes, if he was single', showing the upmost respect for our beloved eco pioneering prez).

Spill in PA Reveals Toxic Ingredient In Detergent

Instead of reiterating the news article about this acid spill on a Pennsylvania interstate I simply want to point out the facts that are screaming for us Americans to wake up & smell the chems in our everyday lives.

The over turned truck was carrying 33,ooo pounds of corrosive hydrofluoric acid causing an area evacuation of 944 households including their animals. The cleaning crews had to wear full protection suits (even when it was down to a drip from the tanker) and the driver was treated at the local hospital. This acid which was spilled has the following health warning: "Hydrofluoric acid, even in low doses, can irritate the eyes, nose and respiratory tract, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. In higher doses, exposure can cause severe burns, chronic lung disease or even death, the CDC says."
Which maybe doesn't mean that much to most of us since we didn't have to be exposed to it at the spill, except that what this liquid acid is being wastefully transported across the US in a gas guzzling tanker, only to be an ingredient in household detergent.

That means a component of detergent can cause lung disease and irritate your eyes while being worn in your clothing & slept in 24/7 year after year (meaning continuous long term exposure) against one of our most sensitive organs - the skin, which regularly absorbs what we put against it into our body.
Not cool detergent makers!
Why don't you guys start releasing your ingredient lists and tell us all about each one, so the consumers of this nation can make educated choices rather then blind choices.

Reason #161 Why I Belong In The Woods

Because ever since I have moved to downtown Asheville my favorite place to go is riding my bike in a patch of trees a couple blocks away. And I never want to leave.

(These low-fi pics were taken with my cell phone)... xoxo

Goodbye King George

Meet King George - he is kind of a loner bad boy ground hog who ate all my soy beans plants last year. Since I am moving away from here within a week I am starting to say a few goodbyes to the regulars I became accustom to. Me and King George have had a love hate relationship, being that I respect his fabulous beaver look sans paddle tail & his native right to be here... but my gawd when he ate my gardens I just wanted to punt his ass. How can ya punt something so cute though, he looks like the New Orleans native rat, the Nutria! That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside & miss home... so good luck King George, may some nice guy with a cage capture you and bring you out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and out of this crowded city. Smooches!

xoxo

Gardening Time: Start Some Seeds

When I picked up some organic seeds yesterday at the store I could tell I had been going through gardening withdrawals. Knowing it would be too late to start my usual early crops by the time I relocate to Big Sandy Mush, I could feel my hand holding packets of cool weather radishes & snap peas shaking like an addict - the smart voice in my head saying "Put it back Leslie, be economical, plant during the right season, just put down those seeds..." Instead I grabbed a ton of veggies and herbs that will be perfectly timed with my move, but since I just couldn't wait to get my hands in the dirt (mmmm, dirt smells so good) I decided to go ahead and do a few starter plants.
Most herbs do great as transplants and can be started ahead of it's natural season. Veggies can be hit or miss but I went ahead and tried planting some Moon and Stars Watermelons (click that highlighted link and see how freakin' pretty those watermelons are!). All you need to get your plants started are dirt, something to stick the dirt in, seeds, hands or a shovel, and a good gardening buddy (see pic below!) After I filled my trays with some soil, I sprinkled chicken poo compost over all the dirt. Giving your organic seeds a good start makes a stronger plant - but be careful not to blast them with too much enhancement which in my opinion can create a weaker plant as it grows.

I buy only organic seeds because these are not genetically modified, they are free of chems, they are mostly heirloom, and they make much stronger plants with better bug resistance. Any plants I grew from non organic seeds always had worse pest & fungus issues, and somehow feel like it's a conspiracy seed that forces people to think we need to spray our food with nasty chemicals. Which is gross.

I really hope that this isn't the face I make when I am gardening... maybe I hope this isn't a face I make regularly at other humans (any friends or relatives out there to confirm this!??) It's a good idea to label which seeds are which, especially if you are a beginner gardener so you can know what to plant where - a must in companion planting!

Keep those little guys watered regularly for quicker and healthy germination. :)

Happy Gardening! xoxo

The Pope: A Health Hazard?

Remember a few years back when the former Pope John made some statements about activities such as yoga being against church beliefs? I was pretty stunned, maybe even giggled and thought it was quite a lame little health hazard. I figured he was slightly absolved from saying something so silly when polluting the earth was later declared a "sin". But the new Pope, Mister Benedict XVI made recent statements about the AIDS crisis in Africa that make my toes curl, my lips curl, and cringe at the pure ignorance that could cause a major religious based health hazard.

"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he will begin a seven-day pilgrimage on the continent. "On the contrary, it increases the problem." (read the rest of the article that has me pissed off here.)

With the lack of education & modern resources I imagine that Africa looks like a great place to go in and brainwash some people on how to get to heaven, in only the style the pope knows how. Abstinence. I suppose if he isn't getting any play, then no one should? What are you telling us Pope B? Just inform these people not to have sex, not to be humans, not to follow biological needs, to not do what inevitably WILL be done - and suggest that the one preventative contraceptive available and cheap isn't going to help the problem as good as your abstinence plan? Kind of like how Prez Bush took out sex education here in the US, replacing it with abstinence only programs that actually increased the percentage of teen pregnancies, and therefore STD's. Pope B, I have to ask, was this a statement directed towards your hunger for religious respect, fame and controversy - at the price of people's lives & health? I can not even fathom the numbers of people saved from terminal and terrible STD's using condoms since our knowledge of AIDS has increased. Not to mention pregnancies that were unwanted or unable to be cared for properly. And maybe you also forgot about things like misogyny and how possibly another culture differs from your micro Vatican white bread world in how they relate to their sexuality and relationships.

I am beyond disgusted that anyone is such power would propose statements that effect the minds of many people throughout the world, including impressionable and sexually active teens in the united states as well. In the real world people have sex- in fact, they have sex quite a bit - and once they get started they really aren't gonna stop because you said so - but maybe they won't have that condom in their hand to protect themselves because they couldn't get it from the government or they were too humiliated by the social & cultural rules you are perpetuating.
It's like you want to have blood on your hands - the blood of unwanted pregnancies, of people dieing of AIDS, people taking tons of STD meds that end up in our drinking water - while you sit pretty on your supposed moral high horse telling people not to be what they are (humans) as a solution.
Purity is in nature, not in selfish moral statements that have the weight to damage lives.

PS- Pope Benny, I would bet my life on the fact that you have your own F buddy - let's hope they use a condom (or vice versa) and don't give you AIDS.

Green Sex Video

Isn't this kid a cutie? He made a funny little video about "green sex" and how to enlarge your penis by recycling and other related tips...

"The most natural male enhancement ever. You want a bigger d!ck? Mother nature wants a better earth. You scratch her back, she'll make your c*ck larger. A video full of scientific studies that show you how to make your man-stick bigger through the simple ways of being an environmentalist. Go Green..."

Show him some support for his earthly efforts by watching his video on yotube here!
ps- he also wants to be an eco model, so ya'll designers need to contact him!
xoxo

The Oko Box Is Relocating

Bloggin' may be a little stunted and sparse as I pack up myself & The Oko Box to move back to the town where it all started. Back in the winter of 2006 I started The Oko Box from an idea in my head and a little money from selling my previous house - I had moved into an authentic log cabin over 100 years old in Big Sandy Mush, NC. I was surrounded by two large streams, waterfalls, giant trees, rocks, coyotes, skunks, deer and used only an outhouse for a bathroom. Since leaving that beauty I have been living downtown in the cities of Waynesville and Asheville, NC - and have been patiently waiting to go back to the simple lifestyle I really love most, which is being the crazy lady in the woods who has twigs stuck in her hair, animals following her through the gardens and trees, growing her own food and talking smack about solar power everything.So this month I am packing to go back to the very rural and intriguing Big Sandy Mush ... a place where no cell phone towers exist, a place that by law can not be developed, a place left only to farming & forest conservation (and probably a few wacky backwoods old men with hounds & rifles!) :) Don't fret that you won't be able to reach me though, I will still have internet service, telephone, and IM!!!
xoxo*Photos of Big Sandy Mush from http://www.randallglen.com/location.html*

Blogging Vacation!

This week I have been forced into a blogging vacation due to a broken computer keyboard that types the letter "t" all day and because I am packing to move out into the woods at the end of this month!!!! Be chatting with you soon again...
xoxo

Signs Of Spring Part 3: Birds & Bees in Flowers & Trees

Yay! The first really warm day of spring is here and although it can snow a few more times, the grass is still dead, and it's hard to imagine the trees will ever show their leaves again... it's 70 degrees today! Here are the pictures I took in celebration of the change of season.

XOXO

DIY: Turn Baggy Jeans into Skinny Jeans

Baggy jeans may flatter some people, like those who are taller then 5 foot 3 inches - but for munchkin sized me I need tighter fitting jeans to create the lovely illusion that I am actually somewhat tall. Plus I just love the tighter style of organic denim so that I can pair them with some second hand boots flawlessly. This is an easy, quick, and fun tutorial on how to magically make your blah jeans into club jumping hot pants! (You can also watch it on video here on you tube).

This picture is the BEFORE shot of the baggy loomstate denim. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: ill fitting jeans, straight pins, simple sewing skills, thread, and maybe a friend to help with pinning.

STEP ONE: Turn your baggies inside out and then put them back on that way. (Please excuse my really messy house in the pictures, I am packing to move. Also, meet my good friend & neighbor Heather who helped me - I just love her!)

STEP TWO: Have your friend help you put straight pins down the outside seam of both legs. You want it to be almost form fitting but leave enough room to get in and out of them. My jeans are 100% organic cotton with no stretch so it was better to leave a little extra room.

STEP THREE: Sew along the lines created with the pins, with the jeans still inside out.

STEP FOUR: Flip the jeans back to the right side and try them on before cutting out any extra fabric created by the seam. And check out the saucy AFTER shots of my new DIY organic skinny jeans!!!
......................................FRONT VIEW ....................................

................................. BACK VIEW...........................................

YAY! Now I need to go walk to the health food grocery and show these hotties off! :) XOXO

Check out the VIDEO for this tutorial set to music.

Chemical Dyes In Fabric Suck

I recently had a little extra money to buy myself some new cotton socks from American Apparel (there's not alot in the way of big tube socks that are organic so I settled for fair wage & made in the USA). I hung my socks outside on the clothes line right when the big snow storm hit and had the opportunity to see the sick amount of chemical dye pouring out the socks into the white snow. Not cool. I think most of us do not ever realize the amounts of chemical dye that goes into all the clothing being manufactured worldwide- running not only down our drains in the wash, but being dumped into soil and water where fashion companies cut corners and pollute around the globe. These dyes contain harmful chems & heavy metals - which is why low impact dyes were adopted by the organic clothing industry. But I have seen the low impact dyes run quite a bit in the wash too, the theory is they are fiber reactive and just run a whole lot less causing less damage to nature & our skin. But really ya'll... my runny socks majorly grossed me out making me think twice before ever putting my money down on something conventionally dyed or fiber reactive dyed in dark runny colors. We need to either learn to achieve greater colors through natural dyes or simply cut back on our support of these practices. (I know, I love bright colors too and want to sport bright green & red tube socks as much as everyone... but our modern dyes suck!)

PS-If any of you have a link to some websites which tell the real ingredients of modern chemical clothing dye please leave it in the comments section - I searched through google but didn't find a reliable source.

Reason #160 Why I Belong In The Woods

Because the voodoo woman in me doesn't mind getting this close to a snake (hanging above my head) to take a picture of it.

xoxo

Winter Storm

The last few days have been rather dark... rain to sleet to snow storm, which I am hoping signifies the end of the North Carolina drought. Here's some pictures of the white beauty that made the never ending cold winter a little more worth the suffering. :)

1. Paw prints in the snow...awwwww, always cute!

2. Little snow mountains on thin branches.

3. Traditional shot of the snow covered pine tree - something that I never got to see in New Orleans so I am forever mystified.

4. Tiny ice sculptures on a tiny branch creating alot of tiny beauty.

5. Hibiscus flowers after they dry looking fabulous in their snow hat.

xoxo