Input, please... ;)

Thanks for all your kind messages about the crazy rains here... ;) It was amazing actually – as soon as I wrote about it all, it stopped – we woke up today to a sunny day :) It was like someone up above had forgotten to turn off the tap (faucet) and then realised... ;) I guess I’ll put the build-your-own-ark kit back in the garage for now then ;) As a result of the sun making a welcome return, today was also outlandishly humid here, as the heat evaporated up lots of the moisture we’ve been sitting in for days. The air was so thick it felt challenging to even breathe at times, let alone eat much and our appetites dramatically fell away…mainly liquids and fruits all day…I also noticed that masses of mushrooms had grown up all over the place when I went out for a walk in our area – I guess damp, dark and muggy are ideal mushroom conditions and they’ve been thriving, while everyone else has been grumbling... ;)

on January the 4th I had:

1.5 quarts water
big slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/bok choi/kale/radish/cucumber/fennel/celery/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
bowl of soaked dried figs blended with hemp seed, with dried apricots dipped in raw tahini on the side – yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
3 cups water
big handful of cherries
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/bok choi/kale/radish/cucumber/fennel/celery/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
slice of watermelon
3 cups beetroot/cucumber/apple juice
1 cup water

I grabbed the opportunity to wash our clothes today while the sun was here to dry them – everything’s been damp or dirty…or both…for the last week or so ;) Now we have shiny, happy, dry clothes again and in the process I realised I’d never got round to writing here about the laundry ‘soap’ we use...why would you want to know about laundry soap, you may be wondering...well, this ain’t no ordinary soap, m’dear...in fact it’s a product I’m REALLY excited about in terms of the potential global implications for sustainability and reducing pollution. We’ve been using ‘Maggie’s Soap Nuts’ - the only laundry soap that grows on trees :) Yes, quite remarkably, these ‘soap nuts’ are simply the dried fruit of a tree – the Chinese Soapberry tree. These lychee-like fruits contain ‘saponin’, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes, like the plants used by Native Americans for washing. You just put a few of the soap nuts into a little cotton sack which they come supplied with and drop it in your laundry. The saponin ‘soaps up’ during the wash and your clothes come out clean, vibrant, and soft. I have truly never used anything for washing clothes that leaves them feeling so ‘silky’ and…loved. :) I think they’re amazing. They’re also obviously totally biodegradable, as well as re-usable and hypoallergenic. How exciting is THAT??? Your clothes, your skin, your family, and your planet will thank you for using them :) I love them so much that we’ve started to sell them in the RawReform Store and have them in various pack sizes, from a sweet little trial size pack of a handful of ‘nuts’ to 200 load tubs. You can see more about them in the store HERE.

on January the 5th, I had:

1.5 quarts water
big slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/romaine/fennel/radish/cucumber/celery/kale/bok choi/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
bowl of fenugreek and lentil sprouts stirred with diced tomatoes and a bit of tahini, with another little bowl of straight sea spaghetti and sunflower greens on the side. Homemade dessert of a little bowl of tahini mixed with raw honey and cracao powder – chocolate halva – yummmmmmmmmmmmmm :)
3 cups water
slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/romaine/fennel/radish/cucumber/celery/kale/bok choi/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
big handful of outrageously gorgeous cherries
2 cups water

I’d like your opinion on something, please. :) I’m going away on silent retreat this Tuesday, for 4 days. I’m very excited. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for many years and it has never quite flowed with schedules and locations...it seems now is the time... ;) So... where do you fit into this? Well, I’m going to be completely out of communication while I’m on retreat – no email, no blogging, no phone, no talking even...and in my absence, Mr Monarch has volunteered to take over writing the RawReform E-Journal (as a guest writer this time, rather than monkey-ing his way in... ;) Soooooooo, whaddaya reckon? Do you wanna read more musings from the Monarch for a few days? I’ve made a little poll on the RawReform site where you can easily register YOUR opinion before Monday. That seems democratic to me...it’s you who reads here, after all... ;) So, click HERE or on the poll picture to register YOUR vote. :) Just scroll down a little on the RawReform Homepage to see the poll on the right hand side... Thanks :)

One love,
Angela. xxx