Hey there. It's been a while.

​Last time I blogged, I thought I knew where my life was headed.  We were selling our glass business  and starting a smaller scale repair business that would tie into green janie and allow me to focus more on art and other green endeavors.  I was so ready for that change.

​Well, things changed alright, but not in the way I expected.

​We did not sell the business. My husband needed to retire for his health so I had only one choice - to step in and take over running the business full time.  That is when the art work, the writing and research all came to an abrupt halt.  That was nearly 3 1/2 years ago!

I never saw myself in this role. Sometimes I love it , sometimes not. But I do it day in and day out. It is not easy. I have help in various ways from great, smart people. We are making it work.   You do what you have to do for your family. Plain and simple.

I spent a lot of  time thinking it was temporary. We'll figure something out. My partner will someday be able to buy us out. This isn't who I am.  I'm a mother, part time sales rep, artist, writer, speaker.  This thing is just for now.  That way of thinking changed somewhere along the way.

​I started to think of myself as someone who used to be and artist use to write a column .( Like I use to be a bartender and a waitress). I felt like I was letting go of that side of myself.  And that sucked.

​Something so sad happens to a creative person who doesn't create.  You start to wither on the vine. I had always written but I stopped for the most part.  When I discovered my artistic side, it was like therapy. I missed it but could not begin to find time for it. 

​Life had gotten really hard. It is too much to go into now, but believe me, it was so overwhelming that I shut down and went into survival mode. I don't say that to elicit pity. Life is a lot harder for many people. It just marks where it all started to come undone for me.

I stopped doing so many things - stopped listening to music, stopped exercising regularly, shut out family and friend, stopped going anywhere and doing anything besides what was absolutely necessary.
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​Then that changed too. After the death of a young friend; a death that impacted so many people I care about, I knew I needed to change.

​So I'm working on that. And it is coming along (more on that later).  Maybe that is what this blog will be - a creative outlet and insight into what, if anything, I am figuring out.

​The name of the blog had to change too, since my green endeavors have taken a back seat to everything else.

​I'm calling it "Jane Says"  not that anyone needs to care or listen to what I say. It's just a great old song a college roommates use to sing to me in another life. Call it a midlife crisis - but I'm trying to put a little of that old life back into this one.

 And I'm not pretending this blog is anything else besides just stuff I say - take it or leave it.


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Blame Valentine’s Day - but love is on my mind. 
Specifically who and what I love and the time devoted to them. 

I guess this falls under the prioritizing I have been doing since our little fire last August. I had to make a decision about nearly every item in every room.  If I didn’t love it or need it-  I wanted to get rid of it.  I found out I didn’t love as many of my things as I thought I did.  

This got me thinking about what I really love in life.  For example, I love to create. I love
sketching ideas for new pieces, hitting my studio and making it happen.  – I really love just experimenting with different colors and texture combinations. I would be embarrassed to tell you how long it has been since I have spent time doing any of that.  

I think a lot of artist struggle to find balance between activities that feed the family and those that feed the soul.

So what monopolizes all of my time?   My job; something I use to love. Something  I
don’t really  love anymore. It wouldn’t be practical to quit my job and concentrate on art. Still, if I have to work and work isn’t what I love – I either have to spend less time doing it – or find something that I can love.

My job is helping run our glass company.  I have really devoted the past 11 years to it full time.  It was great in the beginning.  I would visit customers, potential clients, market and network.  It appealed to my social and creative side.  I really loved being a crucial part of building a solid future with my husband. The flexible schedule was pretty nice too.

As time went on, I spent more time in the minutia of running a business and less on the things I enjoyed. Gone was the flexible schedule or any real separation between work and home life. Still, I was happy to have an income and accepted the not- so -fun side as paying dues. 

After about a month without him at the shop it dawned on me that what I really loved about our business was my husband. 
I enjoyed working toward something with him, seeing him during the day, watching him make decisions and problem -solve like only he can. 
Not everyone can work with their spouse. It wasn’t perfect but we made a good team and I miss working with him.   With him home, one more thing I loved about work is gone.

Well this is sounding like a fairly sad Valentine’s Day story!  It really isn’t.  I think it could be the beginning of a whole new love story.  Change is on the horizon.  I’m excited to see where it leads.

So spend today with someone you love and don’t forget to spend time doing something you love. Well, I’ll just leave it at that….

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love,
green janie

This won’t be my typical blog.  I have been so overcome with sadness about the Sand Hook School shooting – as are so many people around the country – I felt compelled to write about it.

Maybe it is too soon to talk about healing. It must certainly feel that way for the friends and families of the victims in Connecticut.  But I know I need to find a way to deal with it because when I’m down – it affects the whole family.  The worried looks from my son and husband tell me I have to pull it together. I have that luxury.

This one hit me hard. “This one”.  It still is difficult to fathom that “another school shooting” is something we say now.   They have all been horrific.  The Red Lake shooting in 2005  was not far from Bemidji MN, where I live. It affected people I knew; customers of ours at our glass shop. It was beyond heartbreaking. Still, “this one” affected me more deeply than any other shooting. The little children, Christmastime, the heroic acts of teachers and staff, the senselessness – it all just pierced my heart.  It rocked me as a parent, as a daughter of teachers, as a sister. It is madness and I feel helpless.

Everyone I talk to is reeling from this tragedy. Of course, any pain we feel can’t begin to touch the pain of those directly affected.  Nothing will change what happened of how helpless we feel. Still we need to find ways to begin to heal.  We are a nation of doers. We feel better when we can” do something about it” But what?

I don’t claim to have all the answers but I hope for rational and realistic discussions about how best to protect our children, our citizens; discussions that consider the entire picture.   We certainly need to listen to law enforcement, educators and parents. Their voices and views are crucial to this discussion. Teachers don’t go to work expecting to be in the line of fire in order to protect our children but the Sandy Hook teachers and staff did just that.   Isn’t it what we ultimately expect from them when we entrust them with our babies?  The very least we can do is to hear their views.

Those discussions take time. Change is often painfully slow. What can we do now to begin to find peace?

 If you have come to this blog as a fellow artist, I have a suggestion:  Make something. The creative process can be very therapeutic. If you are a writer, write; a singer, sing; a painter… you get the idea. Pour your heart into a project as a memorial or tribute. 

 Now, I am not naive enough to believe that a little arts and crafts will make everything all better. I am saying that it is way to begin to heal. It is something you can do now.
At my friend’s café last Friday evening, an artist’s started painting a beautiful piece titled “Love.” You can see it here.  http://www.lptv.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=228

  With the help of the café and Bemidji community members, the finished piece will be sent to Newtown Connecticut  as a way to reach out to them. To let them know that they are in our hearts. That is no small thing.

You don’t even have to do anything as grand. Create, even if it is your own private remembrance. Who knows what will come from it?

Art may not be your thing. You can still do something by simply reaching out to people. My parents instilled in us the importance of doing for others. It fosters your compassion and helps you put your problems into perspective. It can also make you feel less alone. 

You may feel powerless to help the families of Sandy Hook but you can help make a difference in someone’s life right where you live.  It could be a friend, a family member or a complete stranger.  Look for opportunities. They are out there – especially this time of year.  Get down in the trenches as a hands-on volunteer or simply reach out to somebody in a gesture of kindness. Your act may help restore someone’s faith in human kind.

It is easy to be overcome with grief and despair; to fear that our world is evil.  Yet, there is so much good in the world. Take notice of the good things that people do. Cherish the beauty around you and the compassion you see in others.  Let those things begin to heal your heart.

Let me leave you with this story:  

A group of survivors from the Red Lake shooting traveled to Newtown Connecticut this week to try to give some comfort to the community.  They know they can make a difference because survivors from the Columbine shooting came to give them comfort when they needed it.  They are doing what  they can do.
http://www.lptv.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=228

There is goodness in the world

Cherish your Holiday time with family and friends.  May the New Year bring peace and healing. 

green janie

“Fire is inspirational” said Richard Pryor. He of course was referring to surviving a freebasing incident that had gone awry. And, though I did not set myself ablaze – I feel the same way about a sudden unexpected fire. Recently, the faulty electrical system in our dryer set the laundry room on fire.  It was minor, as house fires go, but rocked me to the core nonetheless.

My son was sleeping at the time. I was rushing around, about to leave for work.  If I hadn’t noticed the smoke – I shudder to think of what could have happened.  We were mere minutes away from not only losing the entire house but so much more. As it was we only lost things. We are incredibly lucky.  We have each other and we have our home

 We also have a HUGE mess!  Thanks to an open floor plan and my penchant for leaving doors and cupboards open – much of our belongings were covered in a sticky, dusty grey film.   After much discussion with the insurance adjuster, we decided to hire professional cleaners for some of the work but would do the majority of the cleaning ourselves.  The good news is, the entire first floor will also be repainted.  The bad news is, I am doing most of that myself too.   I was excited to paint, at first, and filled with inspiration for every room.  After the 4th room out of 10 total areas it started to feel more like a never ending problem than a super fun project.

It did inspire me to try to be as earth friendly as possible during the whole fire recovery process. It is pretty easy to be green when life is running smoothly but my greenness has been known to drop on the priority list when life gets hard. The entire summer has been difficult and I have been slacking more and more. I saw this as an opportunity to get back on track.  I had hoped to minimize waste and limit the use of nasty chemicals as much as possible.    I am determined to use my go-to natural cleaners where I can.  That didn’t quite work out in the laundry room.  Baking soda couldn’t touch the black soot that was starting to penetrate the sheetrock. We had to go with a pretty nasty chemical that the fire marshal recommended.  
I put my green efforts into high gear after that to offset any bad vibes we were generating – starting with the recycling system.  My old system had me separating everything into bags in the laundry room and tossing recyclables on the floor when the bags got too full.  Not a great plan. The image of firemen trampling over cans and bottles as well as flammable paper bags is forever etched into my brain.  Since my county only requires separation of fiber from containers – I put only two bins under my sink along with reusable bags. I make a trip to the recycling center every other week. So far so good.  

My green cleaners have been surprisingly effective in much of the house.  It is amazing what vinegar, baking soda, borax and elbow grease can do. Cornstarch is quite little wonder too!  It really puts a shine on glass and mirror – two things that are in great abundance in my house. Each time I discover a new cleaning challenge I hit the internet in search of the most echo-friendly solution.  I have come across some great information like this link for cleaning leather furniture at DIY Life: http://www.diylife.com/2010/05/05/the-daily-fix-how-to-clean-leather-furniture/ .  Note the caution to seek a professional cleaner if you are unsure about any of their methods.  Our couch is 9 years old and a bit weathered already so I feel comfortable trying their advice. 

Fire is scary but some good has come from it.  When it was happening all I could think of was my family and our pets. Of course I didn’t want to lose the house but I gave no thought to material things.   Full disclosure- my laptop was already in my car and my phone was in my pocket.  I probably would have risked my life to save them.  Upon reflection I have been able to see more clearly where my priorities should be.  Al I cared about was that we were all alive and after that that we still had a home.  Taking care of ourselves, each other and where we live should be pretty high on our lists. Taking care of who and what I love and eliminating what distracts me from those priorities is the plan.  In the coming months I hope to share the impact of that on my life.

 For now, I vow to slow down and not be in such a rush that I make careless choices.  I also vow to never again leave the house with the dryer running. 

Be Careful out there!
green janie

Insomnia doesn’t hit me very often but when it does I clean and do laundry – like a maniac. Some might say it is the only time I clean but hey, I need something to do on insomnia night. One of  thoes nights hit me recently and had me thinking of homemade cleaners I should share on the blog. 
There are many great “green” cleaners out there these days and some that aren’t as green as they say. I’ve bought many over the years. Now, keeping Health, Earth and Budget in mind guides my shopping decision for the most part.  I can’t always get all three, but that is the goal.  Most of my favorite cleaners hit the healthy and earth friendly categories but blew the budget. Even those that satisfy all three come with packaging I can't always recycle or reuse.  I started looking in ernest for cleaners I could make, that really work. Some are throwbacks to things our grandparents used. I love the idea of keeping it simple and using what you already have as much as possible. I  have included some of my tried and true favorites.

I use baking soda and vinegar for a lot of things - and borax, if something is really tough. Though most would agree that borax is a natural substance, there is a lot of controversy about its safety as a cleaner. That is for you to decide. I have done some research and feel comfortable using it in my home.  I wouldn’t eat it, but I wouldn’t eat straight baking soda or orange peels either. I included a link to a great blog called Crunch Betty. She has done her homework and lays out the facts quite nicely. http://www.crunchybetty.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-borax-is-it-safe-or-not I also found some good information here: http://www.borax.com/pdfs/dist/Profile_Borax_Decahydrate.pdf.  If it is safe enough for contact solution – I think my laundry can take it.

Speaking of laundry – there are several homemade versions of  detergent around the web, but her is my personal favorite:

1Cup baking soda / 1Cup Borax / 1 bar Castile soap (grated with a cheese grater) Mix together and you have an inexpensive laundry soap that is easy on the environment. No nasty chemicals, no plastic jugs or boxes to deal with.  I keep mine in a jar with a little scoop (about 1 Tablespoon) and use 1-2 scoops per load. I sometimes mix in lavender or one of the citrus therapeutic grade essential oils – Health, Earth Budget = clean clothes..
 I also add a drop or two of the oils and a dash of dish soap to a vinegar/ water mix for an all purpose cleaner. Tea tree, grapefruit, lavender are my favorites for this.  I use a bottle from my recycling bin that fits a standard spray nozzle and away I go.

Are you pea, forest or Kelly green? I stumbled upon this question on www.gogreentravelgreenc.om while planning our family trip to Florida. In a nutshell, pea green people care about the environment but won’t go out of their way to protect it. Forest green people are the greenest of the green, always choosing the greenest possible option.  My life is Kelly Green –somewhere in the middle – but I have my forest moments. (Full disclosure, I have had my pea green moments as well).

I love the “shades of green” concept. You don’t have to be perfectly green all the time but you can make a choice somewhere on the green spectrum.  A better shade of green travel was my recent mission.  It is easy to get into a green routine at home but much like my diet, I tend to fall off the wagon when I’m on the road. 

Flying across the country isn’t exactly forest green transportation but biking from Northern Minnesota to Disney World was out of the question.  With a little thought, you can come up with a lot of things to keep your vacation life on the green spectrum.  As usual, I became obsessed with greening one thing particular – the dreaded bottled water.

In my real life I rarely buy bottled water but I find them hard to avoid when vacationing in hot places like Florida, Arizona or Texas.  Last year I brought my empty metal drinking bottle in my carry-on but failed to anticipate that it might look like a small missile on the x-ray machine. Let’s just say security was a bit of a hassle. I could have done without the annoyed sighs, embarrassed head shaking and general eye rolling from my family too.

I picked the metal one because it is small and didn’t take up much room.  It wasn’t really welcome at a lot of places we went though, since it wasn’t see-through and I could have been “smuggling in liquor”, as a very thorough guard at Bush Gardens informed me.  It occurred to me that vodka would be pretty easy to conceal in a see-through water bottle but something told me this guy would have been all over that.

In the end, the hotel water always tasted a little too funky anyway, so the whole thing was a bust.

This year I found PBA –free Britta water bottles with little water filters in the caps. They were perfect. The water tasted better, we could take them everywhere and I didn’t buy single wasteful, expensive bottled water the entire trip.  I also found Platypus collapsible water bottles that would be great for packing light and would look nothing like a missile in your carry-on.
What are your green travel tips / experiences?