sprout

update

2008-09-28T03:05:06Z

well my plan to eat locally has not really been followed. since whole paycheck opened about a 5 minute drive away, and since around 1/4 of their produce is from local farmers, i dont really have an excuse except are you kidding me? it costs 5 bucks for a baguette there. they do however carry the elusive soy vay (which i found with mixed success in the nearby local markets), but eh, no takuan. theyre hot plates are worth it if they have the really good veggie curry and samosas. i still prefer aloha salads and gourmet express gourmet foods next door (much cheaper, tastes the same, veggie friendly, get more). i think the initial popularity of the place will dwindle once ppl realize they cant afford to spend that much money. maybe not the folks in kahala, but the kaimuki folks. however i know where to go when i went the freshest best looking produce ever. i got a zucchini and a nectarine but i really wanted to stuff my mouf with strawberries and tomatoes.

the lanai garden is doing well, and i have been harvesting the snow peas to throw in the pan with my fried tofu. usu i just eat em right after picking. there's a spider mite problem i caught too late, and the leaves have taken a huge hit. i am out there with my diluted dishwashing soap in a sprayer and dousing the infested leaves. they are basically only a problem on 1/6 plants, but i have found a few here and there and the others, so i have to be more vigilant. lettuce is also taking off and almost to the size of a salad serving.

i felt kinda down today after waking up (at noon) - i think because my sister is gone, and i secretly miss her however much i cherish having the place to myself for 10 days. i went to a free reggae show last night with a, and we liked one of the bands a lot, which he says his band kinda sound like. then we went to get jack in a box, which was of course good going down (oreo shake + curly fries, yum) but afterwards i felt all full and farty. i think we shoulda gone to zips.

so this morning when i didnt wanna get up thinking about all the stuff i had to do today - clean, write a letter for a grant application, work on a job app, finalize my summer travel plans, study - i just decided to meditate before cursing my way thru the day, and i felt so much better after that half hour! then i cleaned the kitchen and replaced the shower curtain lining and went to read at barnes and noble. i havent meditated in months, just the before going to sleep kind where i lie down and breathe and fall alseep in two minutes.

i really miss california. sometimes i feel trapped here, usu when it is too hot and/or humid to wanna go out and sizzle. i miss the warm summer days and cooler nights. it is getting cooler in general but this morning was hot, so i decided to sleep in, which is only possible in my sister's cool room where she gets the best breeze and no direct sunlight in the mornings.

well time to make pasta. hope all you livejournalists are happy and healthy!

diet adjustment

2008-09-02T10:16:38Z

today i half read an article in the paper about this family that tries to eat food grown locally/within a 130 mi radius (the major hawaiian islands) while staying within a budget of $15/dinner for 4. they cheated and bought chicken from the mainland because they couldnt find cheap enough local meat, which i felt defeated the purpose of their locally grown only objective, but i was thinking i wish i could do this because the local market is just a couple minutes away. however local produce is pretty expensive, and i am trying to save money cuz i just planned a 3-day trip to the big island! i'm staying at this buddhist bed and breakfast place near hilo over the thxgvg holiday and am really excited, so i am trying to save money and figured i could stop eating out so darn much. i am impatiently waiting for more peas (only 1/4 are fruiting) and the lettuce to grow more leaves. in my hort class i'm planning to grow tomatoes and eggplant and corn and beans. i really want to eat only locally grown foods but that doesnt fit that well under my saving money objective, altho that family was able to do it somewhat successfully. i was thinking of just trying to eat local stuffs, but letting myself eat other stuff if it's more cost effective (and if i already have boxes of cereal and other food at home). anyway should be interesting. i'm hoping to save $100/month by not eating out, and since my mom left cathy and i have been eating at home more and munching on grapes and stuff, and i went thru this cooking phase where i cooked for 4 days straight because i had to use up all the butternut squash somehow. i am tired time for bed.

lanai garden

2008-08-05T03:08:05Z

here are some images of my second attempt at having a garden on the lanai. it's quite windy, some of the beans didnt make it.	edamame
sugar snap peas	cilantro
bush or pole bean w/ lettuce in bkgd	basil

spam! i wish i was your lover

2008-06-08T11:22:36Z

well it's been forever since i wrote / checked updates here. lots has happened since the balmy february days, was that the last time i posted? didnt i post something angry at some point? anyway i have been going thru my neglected yahoo account and have deleted like 500 spam msgs and other crap, and am discovering messages and evites i didnt even know i got from friends. pfff!

hope everyone's doing well. i'm sunned out! and my son sent me some cds!

leap year

2008-02-28T02:06:14Z

i had a great time with surprise boyfriend, who left today unfortunately. we went to the beach a couple times, went on a hike at a botanical garden, had plenty of shave ice and other yummy food.

here is by far my favorite photo of his visit. more to come...

sick

2008-01-22T08:53:35Z

i'm fighting off a cold on the 3rd day of symptoms (i mistook the first day of symptoms as sleeping or eating something wrong, and stupidly had a pint of beer and an enchilada for dinner - there go 16 sick-free months!), which seems to be not going away, got worse, but now seems better, and i think partly due to the neti pot which i finally decided to use. i had serious doubts when carlos told me about it last winter, but i checked it out and since i was desperate to get off nasal spray. i got 2 stainless steel ones (tn has the other if youre interested), which came with instructions, salt, and a cd (since lost), but the website has all the instructions necessary. although i had some problems at first with water going down my throat or into my mouth, i have gotten the hang of it enough so that i dont have to stop to spit out water or swallow or readjust the nozzley part. i looked up videos to see how people use it, and apparently oprah has given it good publicity. this was the best video i found on youtube:

hope everyone is well this winter. i hear it is raining and cold in the bay area - stay warm - cuddle!

1/22: felt like crap this a.m., so i used the neti pot and saw all this yellow-greenish mucous collect in the sink and slowly wash down the drain. gross, but works. still drinking my reishi and astragalus tea in hopes of this cold being as short-lived as possible.

a sorta fairtyale

2008-01-17T09:36:43Z

journey in the garden

FDA Finds Meat, Milk from Clones Safe to Eat

2008-01-15T21:08:50Z

Cloned cows Peggy Sue (right) and Anna Belle graze on a farm operated by ViaGen outside of Austin, Texas, on Oct. 4, 2005. AP Photo on npr.org

FDA Finds Meat, Milk from Clones Safe to Eat

once again, biotech out of control. i heard they were coming out with this report a week ago and it immediately made me want to give up meat and all industrial food for good. i went to the cooperative-owned market nearby and put down 40 bucks for 2 bags of mostly organic and/or locally grown fruits and greens. i remember the berkeley bowl days o'plenty when i could fill up two bags for $20. i'll just eat less, i tell myself. since clover milk costs so much here, i drink mostly soy milk now to avoid all the chemicals and hormones the poor cows ingest with their feed.

last night i went to an indigenous food sovereignty event at the Hawaiian STudies Center at UH, and it was pretty amazing and disgusting how far biotech corporations and universities will go to protect what they call their "academic freedom" - which means they basically steal the seeds of the indigenous peoples and genetically engineer them to sell them (sometimes back to the same people they stole the seeds from) to make a profit. last night a taro farmer spoke on behalf of the taro and Hawaiians and it was pretty clear that UH doesnt have the upper hand. also, nutritionally, he mentioned that people with wheat and gluten allergies can eat poi.

Human Hair Makes Great Mulch

2008-01-11T08:59:44Z

Human Hair Makes Great Mulch Interesting! i'm going to try it when i cut my hair soon. i cant make a mat or anything. actually maybe i should collect the hair from my brush and get started. two basil plants are dead. Not to blame cathy or anything, but damn, she better give me her hair when she cuts it.

Also an article about harvesting rainwater. i havent finished reading it because i've got this headache (i tried fasting for 24 hours, made it to 22 but couldnt stand the headache anymore so made quinoa and tofu and ate some of cathy & bryce's homemade strawberry ice cream). when i tried fasting 12/26, i got nauseous in the car (that was my excuse), so i got about 17 hours in, and realized that i eat entirely way too much as i stuffed my mouth with arare. i didnt need much to feel satiated, but i knew had arare been a burrito or pizza or pad thai, i would've devoured everything in spite of all the signs telling me to stop. i'm addicted to food, but i'm getting over it, and reading about agriculture and the meat "harvesting" industry and the supermarket industry in the US makes me wanna vomit.

highlights of 2007

2008-01-01T01:10:26Z

according to paperofcolor:

5. moving to hawaii

4. yummy pizza

3. my friends & family loving me

2. finding my path as an environmental protector

1. BEAN HEAD!!!!

manifestos on the future of food and seed

2007-12-27T22:08:21Z

paperofcolor gave me this book when he visited in nov, and i'm halfway through it. it's a really good book and has already changed how i view the current state of agriculture in the world. also i learned about the Slow Food movement and the slow food chapter in oahu.

early bloom

2007-12-27T06:21:40Z

		at home since saturday, said hi to all the plants, oldest to newest, and the oldest from oakland, about 2 years old now, is the blanketflower below, which is still blooming. i noticed the daffodils starting to push up to, and get giddy when i see their leaf tips popping up here and there. i'm sad to report that the blue flax is not getting good light and hasnt grown, and there are no poppies or echinacea purpura in sight. got sentimental seeing my old gardening stuff and seed containers....it's a bit frustrating not having place to grow plants in hawaii, other than wind-hardy / partial shade herbs in pots. but, ah, the basil keeps me happy.

the ting guide to gardening

2007-12-21T02:11:51Z

	back in oakland with cold feet and a cup of hot tea always an arm's length away. thien has started a garden at kasi's new house, where i've been staying for a 6-day slumber party. thien is growing sugar snap peas like the ones i grew last year that kasi loved, lettuce, and (window) cilantro. the garden doesnt get the ideal amount of sunlight for fruits but the front yard gets plenty of light (says ting's garden advisor). thien has been doing misc. maintenance projects as well. here's a documentary of two days ago's afternoon:
thien is all green thumby as he prepares to give birth to cilantro:	thien shows off his organic coriander seeds
tn presses the seeds in and evens the soil out	tn is very proud of his hose attachment!
tn fixing leak in hose	tn holding up hose piece and making weird face
peas looking leggy from lack of adequate sunlight and from nibbling	healthy ones (now thinned and trellised!)
lettuce seed leaves (small green dots)	wonder if the pollen is hallucinogenic?
tn is done with his work for the day	tn reminisces over previous life as a landslide
and last i got my report card for semester 1: NREM 210 001 Env Resources:Issues & Options - A NREM 220 001 Agricultural & Resource Econ - A TPSS 120B 001 Beverage Crops - A CHEM 161 0 General Chemistry I - B CHEM 161L 0 General Chemistry I Lab - A GEOG 101 0 The Natural Environment - A GEOG 101L 0 The Natural Environment Lab - A BIOL 171 0 General Biology I - A BIOL 171L 0 General Biology Lab I - B

diamond head

2007-11-20T01:53:14Z

yesterday paperofcolor and i hiked up to the top of diamond head. it's greener this time of year; every time driving by it in the summers i remember it looking all dead-yellow-planty and i had no interest in exploring when the opportunity came up. but it is pretty beautiful and not too strenuous. mostly koa trees on the way up and you can see koko head on one side, manoa, UH, waikiki. here are some photos.

koko head

bean head

waikiki

another rainbow

binh?

basil time!

2007-11-14T23:50:06Z

tn happily picks basil

basil flowers

pesto friends

it's gonna be a basil week. today we had basil in our eggs, tomorrow night pesto, friday night bruschetta. i think the basil can sustain the harvest (ah, biomass and harvest rate curves!) - the four plants are doing well, and two of them are flowering (even tho you're not supposed to let them flower if you want more leafy growth). i am thinking of just having a little basil farm and starting up some more from cuttings or seeds.

paperofcolor has been here for 9 days now and it's been pretty fun, altho round 2 of exams hit last thursday and all thru this week - luckily it ends friday morning and we'll have a restful stresslessful weekend of hiking and swimming and eating basily foods. next week we're heading to the urban garden center in pearl city, master gardener HQ, to pssobily volunteer and pick up my MG handbooks, which i let the office borrow. tn is starting up a garden with kasi at her house, so he's gonna start planning (an excuse to use charts?). we've been going to different cafes a lot, and i'm starting to miss coffee, have coffee hangovers etc, and slept a good 11 hours last night since i hadnt had coffee for over a couple days. (i fell asleep durign meditation last night - thien said i was snoring, and i never snore! coffee withdrawal, why?!)

anyway, today i think i will get some used coffee grounds from coffee bean or the neighborhood cafe (i think coffee bean gets more business (and hence more coffee grounds)during the day) for some slow release fertilizer for the leafies, and i read on this las vegas news site that you can use them to trap roaches, which i might try here, altho i assume the roaches here are a different species, and the ones inside are a lot smaller than outdoor ones and also pretty quick buggas.

installment of "trouble in the five-o" (starring paul) coming soon

plastic runoff

2007-10-21T10:35:23Z

Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean
Binh sent me this article link. When he sails around the world he wants to stop by and document it (hopefully he doesnt get stuck in it and end up like the 267 species mentioned in the article). The ban on plastic bags in SF supermarkets is awesome, but I recall it applying only to the chain markets? Banning styrofoam for food containers in Oakland was also awesome, but what's everybody using instead? Plastic! I am paranoid about plastic leaching and slowly poisoning me, like it is doing to the animals that starve due to the plastic accumulated in their stomachs. I just found my big canvas bag that i always forget to take to the market. Back to chemistry now. Maybe I can, in a moment of inspiration (or delirium), develop the chemical formula for a biodegradable plastic substitute that is actually affordable. Oh I had a lucid dream the other day that i could fly, and it was sort of related to meditation but not really, more about determination and focus - i'm thinking of a formula for that too.

a tripla links

2007-10-16T05:53:02Z

At the lib looking up articles for a geog class, went to nytimes.com and found a bunch of health-related stuff:

Which Alternative Remedies Really Work?
Best alternative remedies? Herbs. Meditation. Acupuncture. And for the ladies, essential fatty acids have changed my life. my acupuncturist recommended I take Udo's, which is pricey, but it's totally worth it (esp if you have PMS) and a bottle will last a couple of months if you go easy on the doses. I take Udo's DHA oil blend usually once or twice a day, unless I eat a lot of walnuts or something rich in EFA.

Unlocking the Benefits of Garlic
It seems obvious to me that garlic is good for you. It's so good, and my fingers smell like it right now. I dont know why I never went to the garlic festival in gilroy. One of these years...Oh, and ladies, garlic is even a remedy for yeast infections. Tasty.

What's Greener, Flying or Driving?
Hm. I always thought driving was greener than flying no matter how long the distance.

In garden news the basil has healed itself, or maybe it's because I tore off the diseased looking leaves and healthy ones have grown back. I got to harvest some for bruschetta last night. Next on my GMO list (after salsa) is a bruschetta plant.

Al Gore, Noble Laureate

2007-10-12T18:27:11Z

yeah i'm suprised.

who's counting

2007-10-10T12:27:20Z

rarely do i post non-plant/health/environment-related stuff, but this is an exception. oh look at that bamboo - that's a plant. never mind. the plants are actually doing well, the cilantro i transplanted to a new pot exploded and is probably all i'd ever need. the basil is still plagued by something i have yet to identify, although most of them seem nonchalant about it. i've been studying a lot, but i will celebrate today after the bio exame with the most glorious nap. and within this glorious nap will be a dinner at phnom penh and a fantastical walk around the old neighborhood. somehow someday somewhere...

1 year ago

herbs / zits

2007-09-26T21:35:38Z

well i have been keeping busy with school; i have 2 midterms tomorrow morning and havent even begun studying for one of them (economics....bleh. costs/benefits of studying. bleh), but have been studying a lot for the more important course, environmental issues and options.

The results of my case study on GMOs were inconclusive, mostly because the USDA, FDA, and EPA arent doing enough to assess the environmnental and health impacts of GMOs. So when the government and agricultural biotech companies say there are no risks, it's because no extensive studies have actually been done out in the field, just in the lab with animals. And of course, GM foods dont have to be labeled, so there isnt really a way to prove cause and effect health-wise. the USDA's own office of inspector general published a rather unfavorable audit of the USDA's handling of GMO regulation.

during breaks i like to go visit the little herb garden on the lanai, which consists of two pots of basil (genovese) and two pots of slow-bolt cilantro (one pot just germinating). i picked some basil leaves today that didnt look too healthy - signs of leaf mining? i dont know, but i plan to use them anyway for bruschetta. (coming soon: lemon balm. wonder how the pot at home is doing?)

this morning i discovered a huge pimple on my hairline, which gave me a reason to crush up an aspirin (soaking in water helps, altho i dont know what the best carrier would be for topical use) and dab the wetted powder on the inflamed zit. aspirin has salicylic acid, which is naturally present in willow bark (and other plants); willow bark is used to treat pain and inflammation. and i guess it's good for zits, because the pimple i treated with the aspirin is no longer painful to the touch, no longer as red, and less than half as big. i left the wetted powder on till it dried; it just kind of flaked off. interesting. well, back to studying....

some plucked basil

cilantro

more basil

GMOs

2007-09-16T10:41:43Z

my friend paul and i have been talking about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), especially gmos in hawaii, and we watched a short documentary called "Islands at Risk" (by Earthjustice) about local resistance to gmos, and discusses the environmental, cultural, health, and economic effects of using GMOs in hawaii. it was really eye-opening, and i'm planning to do a case study on it for my first nrem assignment.

here's the first part (there are 3 parts; total running time is 30 min)

Islands at Risk - Part 2
Islands at Risk - Part 3

on a lighter note nina and i made salsa last night and i harvested some of the cilantro from the pot outside. tomorrow i plan on going to the nursery at star market and picking up some more pots and soil to grow more....the basil is doing very well also....gonna try to the lemon balm again, maybe different basil varieties....

pictures from home

2007-08-28T02:53:43Z

my dad sent these to me - tinks! i want my old plants here! i am lonely plant-wise, bean-wise, but not chunk-wise. i cant grow much here, even the cilantro is limp. my one lemon balm seedling also died, a new one popped up, but i dont know if anything can grow on the lanai - it doesnt get enough sun, it gets all wind, the ti plant looks thrashed. but, i found a gecko in another pot.

i finally did some master gardener hours, too, which was fun because i got to hang with all the senior citizens, who were surprised because i was young and "half katonk." they had a wondeful work party on thursday with a potluck, and i ate so much star fruit!!!

i'm gonna be back in the bay briefly, for a few days (this sat-wed) to work on the farm and see friends and relax. and eat, of course.

well back to studying. it's strange to be back in school, everything is online, classes are smaller, professors are nicer, and i can bike to school without worrying if my bike's gonna be there when i get out of class. i'm struggling a bit since i'm taking the max credits allowed per semester, 3 science courses with 3 labs, 2 lecture courses for nrem, and 1 fun course on beverage crops. mmm. beverages. anyway, back to the poorly written environmental science textbook. the bio book is awesome, i actually read ahead. chemistry is difficult, esp. with my rusty math (and attention) skills. gonna go to thelibrary tomorrow and get some review books.

hope everyone is well!

sunflowers!

2007-08-02T03:04:58Z

The sunflowers are starting to bloom! On my mom's birthday! A msg from my dad:

one sunflower has bloomed. kinda surprised me because the plant is so short, like about 3 feet tall. are they dwarfs? it looks ass tho all the tall ones are ready to bloom so maybe by the weekend they'll all be blooomin'? it'll be interesting to find out how long it'll take the seeds to mature. so...once they mature, what then?
according to the packet: Leave remaining seed heads standing in the winter as a treat for the birds.

My mom & I went to Wally's Garden center today and bought bougainvillea and cat's whiskers, which everyone seems to notice and ask about. We also got a ti plant for good luck.

oahu urban/master garden center

2007-07-27T20:35:50Z

On tuesday i went to the Oahu Urban Garden Center to meet with the president of the Oahu Master Gardener program to see if I could complete my volunteer hours and become certified. The president was very nice and really wanted me on board, and i went on a tour of the 30-acre garden with a group from lyon arboretum in manoa, where i'd wanted to go in november but went to ho'omaluhia botanical garden instead. the tour was awesome, we got to pick star fruit and mandarin oranges, inspect all different sorts of fruit trees, hedges, lawns, butterfly-attracting plants....and taste lots of herbs and fruits. i would love to start growing stuff there, but unfortunately the garden is all the way in pearl city, which is about 25-30 minutes away and a few degrees hotter it seems. not that far, but far enough where going to water everyday might become a chore....seeing as i could walk to my garden plot in oakland. the only solution is for my sister to marry the very nice dude she's dating, buy a house, and let me landscape it. or better yet, kasi should sell her house in oakland, and buy one here, and i promise i wont grow pineapple!

natural skin care/tropic of cancer

2007-07-07T08:05:06Z

since i moved to the tropics i have been using multiple skin products daily, which i never did in the bay area. i have always wondered what effects skin creams and lotions have on people's health, other than the most obvious effects of moisturizing and preventing sunburn. whenever i pick up a bottle of lotion, the first thing i look at is the "Indredients" section, in -2 font, that lists what i assume are unnecessary chemicals that will be absorbed into my body, and that really truly shouldnt be anywhere near my skin.

but i cant just stop using sunscreen, since i dont want to be burnt all the time (learnt my lesson already on kauai, got some peeling skin on my shoulder) and exposed to all them UV rays. i put something with an spf on my face and arms everyday - the neutrogena one thats popular, and my old favorite, oil of olay (proven player). today at longs, while i was browsing for less toxic options as far as skin creams go, i saw burt's beeswax's chemical-free sunscreen. (more shocking was the price for a small tube of the stuff.) it's only spf 15, and doesnt say anything about being waterproof, but works immediately and as long as i dont stay out in the water too long should be adequate. i used to use burts all the time a few years ago, when the products werent as expensive (those little sample kits - lip gloss, the blemish stick, and their sticky lotions - i have been most satisfied with their soaps and rosewater toner). thats another problem with "natural" products - they are so frikkin expensive that it just doesnt seem worth it to pay the extra dough. i thought i was hallucinating at elephant pharmacy - companies make good money off of "natural" cosmetics. cosmetics arent even natural. maybe in an evolutionary sense it has become that way, but then so has cancer and all sorts of diseases.

anyhow, the edible and medicinal plant field seminar tn and i went to has reopened my eyes to seaweed, as well as my uncle eating it for health reasons. ingested and applied topically, it is anti-cancerous and detoxifying. one of the botany courses i want to take is sea plants. so yes, i do eat seafood.

and also, a quick word on anti-perspirants and deodorants. i have tried 5 different "natural" deodorants that dont have aluminum, including that crystal rock thing, and several of the brands you'll see on a whole foods shelf. the only one that worked consistently was tom's apricot stick, although it always felt a little sticky. so now i am back to my cancer stick deodorant because it works the way i want it to work. why am i afraid to smell? i'm not afraid of sweat, just smell. and i suspect that deodorants actually make you smell worse when the chemicals in them break down. argh.

Get Rid of Your Antiperspirant (By Dr. Joseph Mercola) Most people use antiperspirant daily with good intentions, but using antiperspirant is a good way to increase your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease, as it is one of the common sources of aluminum. The aluminum in antiperspirant is absorbed by the body and wreaks havoc in the brain, where it contributes to the growing numbers of people coming down with Alzheimer's disease. I stopped using antiperspirant nearly 20 years ago. I use soap and water instead, and it works splendidly. I even stopped getting underarm stains on my shirts, as it appears the stains were due to an interaction with the antiperspirant and my sweat, not the sweat alone. Deodorants aren't as bad as antiperspirants, but I would also avoid using them unless you find a natural, aluminum-free variety made from some form of baking soda.

ADDENDA: Burt's Bees Chemical-free sunscreen is rated to be just as toxic as the banana boat sunscreen i use! Thanks to vietnamita99 for the link (see comments and this link). At this point I'm ready to swim without sunscreen....7/12 I've been using the crystal body deodorant for the past 4 days, and it's worked much better than the other deodorants I've tried. Why did I ever stop using the rock? My dad kept telling me to use it. I also went a night with no deodorant, and yeah, I didnt smell bad, just a natural sweaty odor that reminded me of tn's armpit smell (he doesnt wear deodorant). Today or tomorrow I'm going back to the natural everything store with my list from the Skin Deep database to get new skin products. Had that pacific "school" of herbal medicine's medicine-making class NOT been canceled the day it was supposed to begin (wtf), I would probably be able to make my own lotions and stuff. But that's another story.

burts bees chemical free sunscreen

kombu

wakame

nori

crystal body deodorant