TASHA TUDOR

   I discovered Tasha Tudor while looking for garden inspiration on Pinterest. I found many pictures with Tasha taking care of her wonderful garden. She was almost always alone and she didn't look at the camera. I started to look for some more information about this intriguing person. I discovered that she had four children and it was her choice to live alone, but what's even more interesting is that she was an illustrator and writer of children's books ;) She resided in New England from her birth on August 28, 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts to her death in Marlboro, Vermont on June 18, 2008.

   I started to look for Tasha's books but quickly discovered that none of them have been translated to Polish. Fortunately many online stores offer free delivery worldwide. One of the cons is the waiting time, which can take up to several weeks but this a sacrifice that a true book-lover will bear with dignity.

   The book I bought "A Time to Keep" was published in 1977. The story starts with a question "Granny, what was it like when Mummy was me?" asked by a little girl to her grandma. The answer is a journey through memories of holidays past. There were homemade valentines and Easter eggs, Fourth of July picnics and family birthdays. Thanksgiving brought visits from relatives so numerous, the children had to sleep in the barn. And finally there was Christmas, the best of all "times to keep" with handmade presents, Advent calendars, and a "beautiful tree in a shine of candles". The book is gorgeously illustrated with watercolor paintings. 

   The world created by Tasha is idyllic, both in her illustrations and in the way she lived in her house with the garden. This greatly conflicts with the fact that she disinherited three of her children in her last will and now they fight over her estate. The sad truth is that Tasha lived in a fantasy world and didn't face real life issues. Some of the last words Tasha said to her daughter Bethany Tudor were: "Oh, will there ever be a cat and dogfight when I die. But I don't care. I won't be here to see it." I suppose a loving mother wouldn't let that happen but I don't know the circumstances to judge Tasha.

Tasha Tudor

A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor

ZERO WASTE

   The "Zero waste" movement has become a popular trend in the past few years. It is a philosophy that encourages people to redesign their way of managing resources according to the Five R’s, in the following order:

• Refuse what you do not need.
• Reduce what you need.
• Reuse by using reusables.
• Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse.
• Rot (compost) the rest.

  

"Pokochaj swój dom" by Bea Johnson

   Bea Johnson, who is a practitioner of a zero waste lifestyle, transformed her family's health, finances, and relationships for the better by reducing their waste to a half liter per year. Her book "Pokochaj swój dom" (Eng. Zero Waste Home) shows how the five key principles can be applied to every area of our house from a kitchen to a kids' room. It delivers easy tips for all of us: from buying in bulk and clever meal planning to simply refusing unwanted freebies and using our plants as air fresheners. Bea Johnson shows, by inspiring example, what green living looks like and offers a practical, step-by-step guide to diminishing our environmental footprint and improving our lives.
   The idea of zero waste sounds like a perfect plan for managing items that we use everyday. It can help to gain control over the things that we keep in our houses but also to improve our health, save money and time. It is no surprise then that I wanted to apply some of Bea's advise to my life. The first thing that I  tried was the recipe for liquid soap. I had many small bars of soap which were free samples. I grated 120 grams of them and poured into 1,2 liters of warm water. I left the mixture in a bowl for the whole night and in the morning I found that it turned into white jelly. I added some additional water, mixed it and poured it into a soap dispenser. Unfortunately the soap is sticky and unpleasant to use... and I produced at least a three-month supply... :(

Three jars of home-made liquid soap

   The unsuccessful experiment with liquid soap did not discouraged me from further implementation of zero waste rules. When I noticed aphids on a plant I bought two weeks earlier I already knew that I will try some ecological methods to get rid of them. I found a recipe for an onion and garlic extract on a website of organic gardening. I took one onion and two cloves of garlic and cut them into pieces. Then I threw them into a pot and poured in one glass of water. I boiled the onion and garlic for half an hour while the wonderful smell spread all over my flat :) When the mixture cooled down, I poured the liquid into the spray bottle and sprayed the plant twice with a 2-day break. Unfortunately it didn't work and even made things worse as more aphids appeared on my plant :( Then I tried another domestic method and prepared a mixture of 50 ml vinegar, 100 ml water and a few drops of dish soap. I sprayed my plant with the new cure and it worked partially. The population of aphids has been reduced but the mixture hurt the plant as its leaves turned brown :( I can still try some other natural methods like tobacco or nettle extracts but I'm afraid that the results will not be any better. I decided to leave my plant alone for a few days and when its condition improves I will go to a garden store and buy a professional pest remedy.

The aphids

The plant after the treatment

   I'm a little bit disappointed with the implementation of zero waste to my life. The domestic methods were not efficient and in fact I wasted more - time, money and energy on trying solutions that did not work. It does not mean that zero waste cannot succeed but we need to invest a lot of effort (time and money) to get the first benefits.