folk, farming and freedom!

A Good Hair Day....

2011-11-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Armand Pacheco

I had a GREAT hair day today. I got a cut and color from my favorite hair stylist, Armand Pacheco, owner of Salon Armand. I have been going to Armand for my quarterly coiffe for over a year now and continue to be highly impressed with how this gent runs his business. He and I usually seem to chat about the state of our world and our place in it and today I learned about his commitment to green and sustainable business practices. After reading his mission statement I felt the need to share it with the blogosphere:

Salon Armand

Supports a Green World

Maintains the highest level of efficacy

Provides superior services using sustainable practices

Promotes high-performance natural and organic products

Creates an idyllic and regenerative salon experience

Nurtures our Guests, Ourselves and our Environment

It is a dream of Armand's to have a completely sustainable salon with solar panels for energy and even a gray water processing system on site that would recycle water from shampooing / rinsing, etc. I don't know how many salons make sustainability a priority, but it made me realize that every decision we make, including the hair salons we choose for our coiffe's can make a difference in the state of our planet.

Moi - and new do!

Thank you, Armand, for my awesome do! And for all that you do to make the world a better place, one cut and color at a time!

A Walk at the Beach in Early November...

2011-11-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

Before I lay me down to sleep,
Beneath the too few stars that grace my urban sky,
I walk, walk, walk.

The waves are sharing their peaceful and enduring song
With those that care to listen to its
Lap, lap, lapping.

The endless chatter in my head quietens
And I forget the worries of the day.
I am not the problem, nor the problem solver
And I have forgotten the score.
I simply AM.
That is enough.

Suddenly, it seems, the November chill startles me awake
To the endless possibilities of my life,
Like a child greeting a new day.
I feel grateful.
I am inspired.

And, I walk, walk, walk
Back to my car
And head home.

Local Urban Vino...

2011-10-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend at Seattle's Eight Bells Winery I, along with a few other volunteers, helped make Pinot Gris wine....process the grapes, anyway! It started with these lovely grapes from McMinnville, OR. Who knew the grapes would be purple when Pinto Gris is actually a white wine?

Pinto Gris Grapes

We tossed 5 huge crates filled with pound after pound of gorgeous grapes into a destemming machine.

They then made their way into a large contraption that actually crushes the grapes.

From here the juice is sucked via hose into a vat to settle...click here to read what happens next.

April, a volunteer who will be the next generation of vinters...

While it was impossible to learn the whole wine making process in just one afternoon of volunteering, I did learn a lot. It is hard work! A lot of manual labor is involved in this craft. But, in any craft, including music making, there is manual labor involved. And if you love the process, the hard work doesn't matter. The end result makes the road a delight to travel. For our work, we received a bottle of wine, an experience and camaraderie with other volunteers.

I encourage you to check out this local winery and support your local vinter!

Listen to Your Mother...

2011-10-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Non-GMO Seattle Volunteers

I'm happy to have a guest blogger today...my mom, Margy Laughlin. She and my dad Bill attended a potluck last night in Seattle with other activists that are working toward a GMO free world. Read about the dangers of GMO's here. Big thanks go out to people like Margy and Bill who are fighting the good fight against corporations and government that make decisions in regard to how nature does its work. Here are some questions to ask yourself. Do you know where your food comes from? Do you know the difference between industrial and organic produce? Do you know what goes into processed foods? Do you know how certain foods can negatively impact your body and the environment? It comes down to this for me....doesn't mother nature know best? When did this change? Would love to hear what readers have to say about this important topic.

The Folks...Margy and Bill Laughlin

Rose asked me to blog about my first meeting with a new organization with a very important mission, GMOFreeSeattle.com.

Last night Bill and I attended a meeting of the grass roots organization Non GMO Washington. We discussed our goal which is to make Washington state a GMO (genetically modified organisms) free food state. Action committees were formed with volunteers on each committee. The meeting was conducted by Dr. Les Berenson, a leader and expert in GMO health hazards related to GMO foods. Volunteers came from as far as Bremerton, Tacoma, and Port Towsend.

It was an exciting evening to be involved in this issue and we will continue to participate and work with our fellow volunteers to work for labeling of GMO foods and promoting a GMO free Washington state.

We have six excellent reasons to work for a Non GMO Washington state and that is the health of our grandchildren and for that matter the health of everyone’s grandchild.

Margy Laughlin

Bill Laughlin

Yes! Please..

2011-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.yesmagazine.org/

I decided against monetizing my blog with random advertisements because during these revolutionary times I feel it is very important now more than ever to be mindful of the businesses we support. I can't have a blog about folk, farming and "FREEDOM" and use ads that support industry that is unsustainable simply for my own monetary gain. Not gonna do it! But, that being said, I would like to support businesses and missions that I believe in. I recently discovered Yes! magazine. It is a non-profit, independent and subscriber supported magazine that promotes "powerful ideas and practical action" for people wanting to make a difference in their communities and the planet. I contacted Yes! magazine and asked them if I could post an ad on my site and they gave me three different photos to choose from. Of course, I had to choose the ad featuring the grandfather of modern activisim, revolution and legendary folkie, Pete Seeger!

In Yes'! own words...

"Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions

Today’s world is not the one we want—climate change, financial collapse, poverty, and war leave many feeling overwhelmed and hopeless.
YES! Magazine empowers people with the vision and tools to create a healthy planet and vibrant communities. We do this by:

Reframing issues and outlining a path forward;
Giving a voice to the people who are making change;
Offering resources to use and pass along

YES! Magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer waste, chlorine-free paper. We reach more than 150,000 readers quarterly. More than 140,000 people visit our website each month, where we post new stories every day."

Hey, if it's Pete Seeger's favorite magazine....maybe it is time to subscribe! YES! I will!

Fall...

2011-10-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

My gigging and farming season (as far as I know) is officially over until next spring. It was a good, good run promoting my new album and also dabbling in the art of farming.

Though we're just in mid Autumn, I'm beginning to feel the pull, pull, pull of winter....it is whispering in my ear...."eat more comfort food, Rose....take out your winter coats, boots and gloves....get ready to hunker down and hibernate!" I don't mind it though. As much as I love the warmer months of the year, and the freedom of it, the change of the season is welcome, too. The rains will come soon...but I will read more, learn some new songs....drink lots of tea and hot lemonade and get ready for the holidays....and before I know it, spring will reappear and it will be welcomed, too.

Let There Be Peace on Earth!

2011-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me....I was reminded of that old holiday classic on Saturday night in Austin, Tx, as Kathleen Ramos, president of Chittamani Kadamp Buddhist Center spoke a few words on how to create world peace. "It begins with ourselves", she said. What an important reminder that I, in fact, had forgotten!

I was delighted to be invited to perform at this benefit concert promoting world peace that was held at the wonderful Casa de Luz, a community sanctuary for this progressive Texas town. It was a magical evening, in part because the energy generated from the guests to the volunteers was all just so peaceful....

To me, the best part of the evening was having a group sing-a-long of John Lennon's "Imagine". Thank you to Synthia, Daniel, Kathleen and all the wonderful people who took part in the evening. Thank you for promoting such an important mission.

Synthia, Daniel, Kathleen, Kim and me singing "Imagine" with the audience...

Me and all the wonderful volunteers that evening! Takes a village!

Peace Out Y'all!

Barn Again!

2011-09-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Barn Where the Magic Happens!

I got to sing in a barn this weekend; a lovely old barn that resides at the Christmas Tree farm in Carnation, WA. It is the home of Maren Van Nostrand and Byron Rick's brainchild, Soundfalls Music Institute. The mission behind Soundfalls is that of working on personal growth in tandem with building community by sharing music performance and dance. I was part of their quarterly radio / variety show on Saturday night. It was almost like stepping back in time. The feeling of community pulsed in the barn. Several acts were featured, including a young artist, who couldn't have been more than 13. Though she sang just one song, I was both inspired and moved to see this youngster sing and play her heart out and look as relaxed as if she were doing it in her living room. I felt blessed to have been invited to perform within this wonderfully supportive community.

Maren and Byron are onto something with Soundfalls. They are helping us reclaim what so many of us have lost with our busy modern lives..... They are doing it with passion, love, and pure joy.

Growing a Child

2011-09-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Me...weeding the beds, back at the ranch...

Mom in her Garden

I decided to help my folks out today in their yard...they help me with so much, it is the least I can do. As a 41 year old woman I no longer resent being given a bucket, trowel and clippers and being told, "can you weed this row here...?" No longer does my Mom say, "do a good job or you will have to do it again..." No longer am I thinking who I can be out playing with and how horrible it is to be weeding a garden back at the ranch, when other kids are playing in the summer sun. I now enjoy gardening as it allows me to live in the moment and be part of a stillness and quiet. I like to think the many jobs around the house that Mom gave us kids helped us grow into hard working people. Maybe that is how you grow children...? I will never work as hard and endlessly as my parents do. I think with each generation into modernity it just changes....

Folk Love.....Folk....Vashon Folk Festival

2011-09-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Alex, the Next Generation of Folk...!

One of the many reasons I love performing traditional folk music (which is an umbrella term, but will use this for brevity sake) so much is because it is for all people and audiences. There is nothing that pleases me more, as a performer and an audience member, than seeing young, old and all those in the middle enjoying the same music. This is community. Community abounds at little festivals like the Vashon Winery Folk Festival. We are starved for community in modern America. We need to grab it where and when we can, participate, nurture and watch it grow, just like a garden. Music and community will nourish our souls....

The Apple of the Earth, la Pomme de Terre...

2011-09-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Spuds!

Mining for gold….yukon gold and fingerling potatoes, don’t you know. Did you know that if you plant one potato in the ground within a couple months you can harvest upwards of 20 potatoes from each plant? I was incredulous as I was digging with my hands at the Lanphear farm and finding gem after delicious gem ….I spent about one hour in the row of potatoes, harvesting.

A few days later, as I vacationed at EagleHeights cottage, where it is known as a B & V (Bed and Vegetables), my sister Debbie pointed out the crop of potatoes that was growing in one of the raised beds. I didn’t even notice they were there. I had been boasting of the jewels that I had harvested at the farm but I didn’t even see the crop at the B & V that was staring me down each time I walked through the front gate. Deb also showed me how to easily harvest the spuds with a pitchfork and voila.

I have a lot to learn.

My Poor Aching Back...post by: "Farmer Wanna-Be..."

2011-08-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Lambsquarter

My finished rows will sprout beets, turnips, and several variety of carrots!

I spent 4 lovely and challenging hours weeding, digging, cultivating and sowing on my favorite island in the world this past weekend....Vashon. (Vashon is a little island in Puget Sound, just a 15 minute ferry ride from West Seattle). Rebecca, the farm mistress wanted to give me a different experience from last time and had me prep two rows for planting: turnip, beets and several variety of carrots. I had to first weed the long beds and rid them of the lambsquarter (weed), which I learned is part of the quinoa family. Incidentally, it is a lovely weed that is easy to pull from the earth, not to mention, you can also eat the greens from this plant. I think I'll call it a friendly weed! Next, I dug out compost from the pile and spread it along my rows. Another important step is the spreading of organic fertilizer. And, yes, more tilling. Finally, it was time to carve out little trenches, plant the seed and sprinkle earth on top. Four hours later I was finished. My poor back was aching but I was proud of myself and my work. I loved every minute of working with the earth and treating it with respect with organic farming practices. I received gifts from nature that day... the gentle breeze from the wind, the heat and golden rays from the sun shining on my face....and music from the birds that sang their hearts out, seemingly just for me... filling the air with their beautiful song...

Je suis RADICAL?

2011-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Me and One of the Ladies...

Who knew that I would ever be "a radical"? I have always been, so, oh you know, "middle of the road". Who knew that watching the movie, "Food, Inc." would begin a FEEDING frenzy toward my desire to investigate the source of my food and turn into an obsession of epic proportions! Who knew it would lead to volunteer WWOOFing...milking goats, weeding rows of eggplant and peppers and communing with daddy long legs. I had been asking the universe for several months to be granted a new passion, to give my life that certain spark that I have felt for years on my journey as a traditional folk singer, and poof! Voila! Ask and ye shall receive...I'm writing this blog to share my adventures on folk , farming and freedom!