I'm nuts, Your nuts, We're all nuts for Soap Nuts!

What a great slogan! I am now nuts for Yoreganics Soap Nuts !

I have washed 3 loads of laundry with them and they are fabulous! Thank you Kim for showing me what these little guys are and how they work. Soap Nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree (Sapindus 
mukorrosi), similar to the lychee. A long time ago, people in 
South East Asia figured out that when the nuts get wet, they release 
saponin, a natural cleaner, making them great for washing clothes!

I think that my clothes were cleaner and softer than with regular detergent. And the pig fleece does not stink! (my guinea pigs live on fleece instead of litter. It wicks away any moisture and dries super fast. Easy to clean up, too. Just shake and wash!).

That was my main worry. I usually wash it with a cup of vinegar to get any smell out. No need with Yoreganics Soap Nuts! Also, soap nuts don't leave a residue build up so the fleece is more absorbant.
Fermi’s favorite bed was washed with the Yoreganics Soap Nuts and usually he takes a day or two to reacquaint himself with his clean bed but today he hopped right in! Probably no fragrance needed to be aired out.

(Fermi and his favorite bed)

(Agape wante dto get in on the action, too)

So, if you find yourself looking for an organic alternative to laundry detergent or have very sensitive skin give them a try! They are reusable up to 5 loads of laundry, too! Feel free to ask any questions or check out the Yoreganics website.

A Great Green Weekend

(random but beautiful sea slug aka Spanish Dancer from Oceans. More on that later)

I had such a fun weekend I hardly know where to start! I met some amazing people and went on great adventures. Overall a great weekend. It all began on Thursday when I took Fermi to see "Oceans" for Earth day. I love taking Fermi to the movies, he is a great date.
 Sweet and cuddly.

On Saturday I attended an Earth Day party at a friend's house. We all made our favorite green cleaning product. We were assisted by a fabulous young man who did a great job providing for a room full of women. 11 years old and totally had his space! He was great! Thanks, Jack!

Sunday I met my friend Pam from Morton Arboretum for an Earth Day festival. There were vendors selling different earth friendly stuff.
That is where I met Kim selling Soap Nuts. They are a laundry detergent alternative. Should be great for dirty guinea pig fleece! Here is a link to their website:
Yoreganics
I am super excited to try them out and will report back my findings soon.

What I found the most exciting about the whole weekend was that everyone I met was having such a great time, having fun doing what they love. What fabulous inspiration from the Earth, doing what you love!

♥ Happy Earth Day!! ♥

Good day to You amazing Earth! What a fabulous time you are having. I love to see your amazing forward movement into our limitless future. Growth and change can be messy but you do it with such ease and grace. I thank you for your delicious example!
I want to share this amazing poem by e.e. cummings.
Enjoy!!

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake
and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)


e.e. cummings - i thank you God for most this amazing


**¨*•.¸¸¸¸.•*¨*•♥ Happy Earth Day, Earthlings!♥ **¨*•.¸¸¸¸.•*¨*•


(PS: check out my first review
....its fabulous!)

Rose Colored Glasses

Seeing the world through rose colored glasses.

I have always heard this saying as cautionary but as I throw caution to the wind I am now seeing (through my newly rose colored glasses) that seeing the positive in things feels so much better than seeing where things are not working. Why focus on it? Looking at the big picture seems to be working much better for me these days.

I do like to try and solve things.

Mind things. Give me a problem and I can think it right out of the park. When I do this it seems that I am peeking over my rose-colored glasses trying to look into a future that does not exist. I am not seeing what is right in front of me, and part of me all the time.Rose-colored glasses are a metaphor for neutrality.

Which in my mind is another way of saying joyfully participating in the experience of life. Viewing life through your own unique vision that is shared by the world’s own unique vision. We’re here to experience joy and happiness. What better way to do it than with some fabulous rose colored glasses!

The only time rose-colored glasses don't work is when you take them off.

I have committed to my rose colored glasses today. I am going to see the world they way I would like to see it; joyful, full of presence, stillness, openness and space. I give this to the world today and see the rosy glow around all things.

Pigs at the Lake

Yesterday was the first day that the guinea pigs have enjoyed the fresh air and grass at the shore of lake Michigan since last year. It was the earliest we have been out with the unseasonably warm temperatures here in Chicago. Usually we are not out until May.
One of my favorite pastimes is to sit at the lake with the pigs and some good friends. Last summer I had 4 guinea pigs and caused quite a stir when I with my stroller full of pigs pulled in. I have met some fabulous people who are curious and thrilled to see these guys out and about. Their pictures have been taken by tourists from other countries and are now, I guess world renowned. I met a couple of people from Peru who had never seen guinea pigs as pets, only as food. I think some Americans might have the same experience with chickens! They were impressed at how cute they were and said they would remember that.

This year I am 2 pigs lighter (future posts will tell the stories of Jasper and Pi). But I am still planning on a summer by the lake with my beloved Fermi and Agape. As you can see I keep them separate. They don't get along all that well, especially when there is all that tasty grass to claim!


I am hoping for a beautiful summer (my favorite season) giving plenty of days to be at the lake and meeting even more amazing people.
So, if you are in Chicago and would like to participate in a pig lake day I try to post it on Facebook . We'd be happy to have your company! Maybe I will try and get virtual about it and take some video next time.
in joy!

Fermi is the George Clooney of guinea pigs

I was sitting with Fermi, my amazingly handsome guinea pig the other night and he just very plainly and out of the blue informed me that he is the George Clooney of guinea pigs.

I stopped and looked at him and actually could see exactly what he was talking about. He is the George Clooney of pigs. Fermi is very handsome and can make all the girls giggle, as does George Clooney. I have witnessed this many times with him as we do many events together (Fermi and I, not George Clooney). I will have him in my arms and a pile of women will come around and start petting him and then start giggling for no apparent reason (I will occasionally join in as well!). I tell the women that Fermi is quite a ladies man and the laughing intensifies. He creates his own cloud of hysteria (very mch like George Clooney)!
Men have a strong reaction to him as well. They seem to focus in on him and know that he is the man's man of guinea pigs. Fermi will often pee on men, as I imagine George Clooney does in his own way, probably not literally.
I have other guinea pigs but Fermi has always attracted the most attention. Maybe it's the magical sparkle in his eye. He is just a fabulous, sexy pig. Yay, Fermi!

BlogPaw

My amazing guinea pig Agape and I spent this past weekend in Columbus Ohio attending an amazing conference called BlogPaws . It was held for people who blog about animals. I am proud to have joined those ranks recently and am also thrilled to have met so many amazing people writing so many amazing blogs! I hope to share more about them and more about what I have learned. Right now I am still digesting everything and organizing all my new tools.

I do want to give a shout out to my good friend Pam of Purrfect Play . She invited me shared her car and room and herself with me all weekend. Thank you, Pam! I had a great time and LOVED meeting your family, furry and otherwise!!

I plan on featuring some of my favorite blogs through links and guest blog appearances. So, if you are interested in guest blogging let me know and we will set something up!

Thanks again for such a fabulous weekend!!
xoxo

The Voice of the World

I was watching the ABC Nightly News last night and they chose researchers of animal language as their persons of the week. It got me thinking about how the world is always communicating. There are millions of languages amongst millions of species. I am not a scientist but I am a communicator and a participant on this planet. I love what I hear. There is so much not to love is what we are shown but I choose to hear what I love. That hum that penetrates may body singing joy and love throughout the universe for all to hear.
We are in a society right now that is deafening because that hum is getting louder. The current din will not be able to keep up, soon it will be all we hear, we listen quietly to all that is peace and joy, love and light. It changes everything, always.
While writing this a big bumbling bumble bee came buzzing around my window. Drunk with life, awakening from a too long hibernation..bzz, bzz, bzz..