Kindle Kindle Kindle

The Kindle. An amazing reading device. My new best friend. My new obsession. It takes me away to unlimited worlds. It teaches me unlimited things.

So yeah, I pretty much LOVE Amazon's Kindle 2. I think everyone should have one. The e-ink technology is pretty cool with how it's gentle on the eyes and refreshes nicely from page to page and having free wireless service (the same type used for cell phones) to get online right from the device and download books makes one feel like they own the world in one little skinny device.

I recently revamped my Kindle with the Mora skin from decalgirl.com and I also revamped the cover (additional cost) made exclusively by Amazon that takes advantage of the hinge holes on the side of the Kindle. I didn't want any fabric tabs covering the corners on my Kindle. I just don't like the way that looks, so I opted for the Amazon cover instead of the (expensive) Cole Haan.

So this is my bare white Kindle before:


And the cover before:
And this is the Kindle after, with Decal Girl's "Mora" skin applied, along with the revamped cover of red faux crocodile/snake fabric wrapped over the outer shell:

See the hinges that fit in the 2 holes? Love it. That's the only way for me. Velcro or corner tabs just aren't my thing.

It was pretty easy to revamp the cover or rather maybe I just chose to go the easy route. The inner soft part is just glued on so I carefully pulled that apart making sure I didn't bend anything too much. After that I just covered the outer part with my red fabric, using fabric glue and making sure everything was snug and smooth which was really easy to do. Then I reglued the soft inner part back on and voila!, a revamped Kindle case that fits my style more.

I had bought a whole yard of the red faux crocodile/snake fabric so I have plenty left. I may see what kind of handbag I can make with it and be all matchy-matchy with the Kindle case.

In Carbonation Heaven!

Today I received my main birthday present from the hubby and son (I have to mention Gavin since he makes sure I know that he is included in who got the gift for me). I'm just now receiving my gift because the company was closed for the holidays and New Year inventory. Oh the things I have to deal with in having an early January birthday.

But all is well now because I now have in my hands a soda maker - a lovely beverage carbonator. I got the simple looking one but there are others available like the very sleek penguin styled one. We couldn't justify spending that extra money though, but it really does look nice. What I did do though is make sure I had those beautiful glass carafes that are made for the penguin one. I have 3 in all. You cannot use the glass carafes with the other models during the carbonation process but you can use them to pour your soda or seltzer water in for a more beautiful look. It feels and looks very sophisticated to store and pour from them. But it is good to know that the plastic ones that come with the basic model are BPA-free!



I must admit, I asked for the soda maker in high hopes of being able to make "raw sodas" and carbonated lemon green tea drinks like the expensive ones they sell in stores. You are only suppose to carbonate pure water and then add the flavorings afterwards but I attempted to carbonated a mixed berry juice and it turned out so good! You do have to watch and wait carefully though when carbonating to make sure the juice/foam doesn't expand and spill out. But omg, I made sparkling juice that was so bubbly and nice! I know I need to make sure the juice I'm using is pulp-free since carbonation goes smoothly with pure clear water.

I'm completely loving my new soda maker! I just love devices that help make eating healthier so not a big deal AT ALL whatsoever!

New Year's Resolutions

So it's about that time again to achieve and stick to some new things to do.

Here's mine:

1. Condition myself to run up to six miles. (This was my resolution last year!)

2. Get highly into reconstructing old clothes into new clothes.

I got these books just for this:

Along with all my old clothes, I think I'm going to find it fun and exciting to find stuff at thrift stores to turn into something new and creative.

3. Eat or drink one chlorophyll rich meal at least once a day. (I've already started and it's way easier and yummier than I thought. Can we say 'kale chips'?)

4. Work more on filling up my Book of Shadows.


5. Spend money more wisely to save more.

I may add to the list if I think of anything else.

ReusableBags.com

The other day I received my string and net produce bags from reusablebags.com. I must say they are very neat and stylish. The string bags stretch extremely well, even the teenage guy who helped bag my groceries commented on it. It feels really good to cut down on plastic bag use! I have 5 of the black string bags and 4 of the large net produce bags. I think my aura just got a little brighter!

Here is a photo I snapped of one of the bags:

click photo to enlarge

If enlarged, you can see one of the net produce bags in there. Also, way more can fit in the bag!

Ethical vs. Dietary Vegans

An ethical vegan I am not, though the phrase of it kind of stings in that I think I am very ethical! But my beliefs restrict me from being called one of the ethical kind.

Let us go through the reasons why I cannot be called an "ethical vegan".

1. I love feathers and see nothing wrong with using them if the birds are not harmed by a feather being found just lying on the ground. Awhile back I needed a feather for a spell and asked Goddess to give me one and the next day a duck left a feather for me right in front of my sliding glass door. I guess the duck doesn't want me to be ethical, eh?
2. I see nothing wrong with using wool if the animals are taken care of and happy. Likewise, I see nothing wrong with taking an already dead animal's fur for clothing. But I would not kill an animal to take its fur, this to me is insane. There are lots of symbiotic relationships between different species in nature and aren't we humans a part of nature as well? As long as the symbiotic relationship is beneficial to all (both human and animal), I see nothing wrong.
3. This last reason may be the kicker in why I am not considered an ethical vegan: I will not ignore my above reasons in order to be a supposedly better example and/or having a supposedly easier strategy to convince and prevent others not to harm animals. Doing that would prevent me from being true to myself.

I love the Earth, I absolutely ADORE the Earth and all of her intricacies of life she carries but I fully believe that my beliefs are more than okay in being a great example that we should treat animals as we want to be treated and that my beliefs and actions attract good karma.

The Solar Food Dryer

click image for Amazon page

Ask any raw vegan foodist and they will probably tell you their Excalibur dehydrator is their #1 choice in dehydrators. I have one myself. But I can't help but yearn for another method that doesn't use electricity, but makes good use of what is free right outside and up in the heavens--the sun! Who knows, maybe it's a past life in me that yearns to dry and preserve foods in a more ancient and even more earth friendlier manner.

I would absolutely LOVE to do this project. My heart would absolutely SING if I made this thing. I must make this happen!

On to the book description:

The Solar Food Dryer describes how to use solar energy to dry your food instead of costly electricity. With your own solar-powered food dryer, you can quickly and efficiently dry all your extra garden veggies, fruits, and herbs to preserve their goodness all year long-with free sunshine! Applicable to a wide geography-wherever gardens grow-this well-illustrated book includes:

• Complete step-by-step plans for building a high-performance, low-cost solar food dryer from readily available materials
• Solar energy design concepts
• Food drying tips and recipes
• Resources, references, solar charts, and more