{this moment}

. . . . . . . . . . 

"There are no ordinary moments." ~Way of the Peaceful Warrior

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A photo (or few) capturing moments from the week. Simple, special, extraordinary moments. Moments I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . . . 

Last weekend we had a fun day checking out the Kaslo May Days. Lots of fun with friends, watching skateboarders, logger sports, and just plain having some fun in the sun. :)

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

♥ New in the ReLove Plan.et Etsy Shop! ♥

If you're on my Facebook page or check out my Etsy shop you already know this, but this never stops me from wanting to share my new products on the blog too. ;) 

I'm still running around with etsy orders and getting ready for markets but there are always new projects I'm throwing into the mix. I've been wanting to make a "Love" shirt for a long time now and was playing around with a few ideas before landing on this simpler design. I finally decided to do it because my husband also encouraged me to make a shirt for markets this year that tourists and locals would want to show their love and pride of this beautiful place. For those wondering (or questioning), I live in the Kootenays, which encompasses Nelson and some other rad places in these beautiful mountains. So I was able to create a shirt for locals that also encompassed my "Love" shirt, allowing me to easily print it without the "Kootenay" part so everyone could enjoy it. I personally am super stoked about it. It made sense that I made this shirt considering my company is called ReLove and because of everything it stands for. Super happy. :) 

I'm also excited because I got in my new permaset inks, with pinks and greens and oranges which means other new colour combinations will be showing up in the shop. In the mean time when placing an order you can request any of these colours--or if there's a colour of ink you want but don't see I can probably mix some colours. Magic you know. ;) 

My old screen needed redoing since it was starting to get little pinholes in it that would show up on the print, so I redesigned one of my favourite piggy designs. I think this one is cleaner than the other and extra adorable. 

Two designs were retired due to lack of sales and they just so happened to be on this same screen, but you never know when they pop up in the future. Regardless, they made room for my new "Love" print and also this seal print that I've been wanting to also do for a while since I feel so passionately about stopping Canada's Annual Seal Hunt and want to spread more awareness. 

Hope you love them! They are all available on the racerback tank tops, slouchy tees, dresses and when the hoodies and sweaters are available on those as well. 

Links: 

"Love" Shirt

"I'm Too Cute to Eat" Pig Shirt

"Save the Seals" Shirt

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

❀ The Good News ❀

. . . . . . . . . . 

Stop watching the News on T.V. filled with lies, propaganda, and made to make you feel helpless and afraid.

With all the negative news in the world, it's time to give you hope and inspiration. It's time to the weekly Good News! 

. . . . . . . . . .

Tree Surgeon Goes Out of his Way to Save 20,000 Bees

Last week, tree surgeon John Joinson was called out to dismantle and remove a large tree that was in danger of collapsing onto a roadway in Childer Thornton, England. But as John was preparing for his work, he noticed that bees were coming and going through a crack in the tree’s trunk. So, lest he find himself the target of a bee-stinging campaign in defense of their hive homeland, the arborist wisely thought twice before revving up the chainsaw.

John tells his local paper, The Pioneer, that it would have been “easy to kill them with a can of wasp spray”, but instead he decided to save them. John called a local beekeeper who came in and found the queen to isolate her. She was put in a small ventilated box and then placed in a bigger cardboard box, so that when the bees returned, instead of going into the tree, they went into the box as she gives off a pheromone, and they could smell her. Over about four hours the majority of bees were in the box and not the nest. The bee keeper then took them to his hives in Llandegla. They saved about 20,000. 

(Read more)

Victory! Texas Bans Gas Chamber Euthanasia

On May 10, Governor Rick Perry signed a bill that immediately bans gas chamber euthanasia for homeless pets throughout the state of Texas.

The bills to ban gas chambers and require homeless pets be euthanized by sodium pentobarbital injection (EBI) were introduced by Representative Eddie Lucio III and Senator Kirk Watson earlier this year and had gained support from the public and a number of animal advocacy organizations, including the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

(Sign the petition to End Gas Chamber Euthanasia for Homeless Pets) 

Success! India Takes Progressive Stand Against Captive Dolphins

The Indian Minister of Environment and Forests, has announced that captive dolphin facilities will not be allowed in India, leaving dolphin advocates hopeful that an official ban will be put in place.

More than 23,000 people signed the petition asking the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to help stop the continued exploitation of dolphins. In January, the AWBI acted by issuing an advisory to all state governments against granting permission for dolphinariums, citing health risks and high mortality rates among captive dolphins. The decision not to allow anyone to bring dolphins in for public or private display, performing, education or research made doing so a violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

(Read more) 

A Win for Suffering Greyhounds in Florida

As of May 21st, Florida will implement its new Animal Welfare Rules for greyhound racing. They will improve life for thousands of dogs. 

The new rules require trainers to notify the state whenever a dog dies at a racetrack or kennel, Greyhound haulers will have to be licensed. Trainers must also maintain a roster identifying every dog in their kennels and listing the dog’s name, tattoo number, owner, trainer, dates of arrival and departure, and the name and license number of the hauler transporting the dog. At the racetrack, the new rules prohibit trainers from locking more than one dog in a cage.

Although this is a step in the right direction, Florida’s Greyhound Races are still cruel and unnecessary. Nothing short of abolishing greyhound racing would truly protect these dogs. Keep the fight going! 

(Read more) 

H&M signs the Bangladesh Worker Safety Agreement

After the events in Bangladesh when a garment factory burned killing many people, Avaaz.org (and other organizations) have been campaigning for stronger fire and safety agreements. After the campaign made a media storm in H&M's home country of Sweden, H&M signed the Bangladesh worker safety agreement!

There are still more companies that need to sign and of course the best thing you can do is to choose not to support unethical clothing companies. 

(Sign the petition here)

It’s Now Illegal to Deny Gay Marriages in Brazil

A 2011 Supreme Court ruling recognized the right for same-sex couples to have equal access to all marriage-like benefits. However, not all jurisdictions had chosen to allow same-sex marriage recognition, with a decision often hinging on the moral opinions of individual notary publics.

Now, a top judicial panel in Brazil has ruled that same-sex marriages must be allowed nationwide. An analysis and resolution issued Tuesday by Brazil’s 15-member National Council of Justice, the council that oversees the country’s judiciary, says that it is illegal for notary publics to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

(Read more) 

Sweden turns Trash to Energy

Sweden has always been ahead of its neighbors when it comes to reducing its environmental impact. To make power, the country does something unique: it turns trash into power on a national scale using high-power incinerators. At first glance, it solves two problems: getting rid of trash before it piles up and generating electricity without burning dirty fossil fuels.

But now Sweden is hitting a wall. According to the country’s Environmental Protection Agency, it needs more trash to feed Sweden’s energy habit, and it’s begun importing trash—just over 881,000 tons—from nearby Norway to do it. 

Hopefully this amazing technology can be applied in North America and other trash-heavy places. 

(Read the full story) 

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for reading this week's "Good News!" Join us every week and feel inspired! 

Be sure to sign up for Care2's newsletter for some real news around the globe, to make a change, and to open up your mind to the Real World!

See that your actions count and get out there and do good! Be the Change!  

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☼ Grow your own damn Food! ☼

. . . . . . . . . .

These weekly posts are to share the progress of our garden; sharing photos and our gardening experiments and will hopefully inspire you to grow your own garden too! :) 

. . . . . . . . . .

Our front garden bed is looking much more like a garden bed which is definitely exciting. 

We planted the zucchini last week and they are continuing to healthily thrive. Since our transplanted tomatoes were so terrible and we were gifted those lovely tomato plants from our landlords, we turned over the dwindling ones and planted our new happy plants instead. We also planted the pepper plants we got last week along the squash and uprooted the kale that wasn't doing much at the end of the tomatoes as well. So now everything in that bed is green and looking, well, like a garden.

[tomatoes and peppers]

[peppers and zucchini]

My sister (over at Little Mountain Haven) also gave us three of her extra tomato plants that we made room for. She also gifted us some melon plants which we also planted yesterday in the front garden bed. Exciting! We've never grown melons before and it's a good space to let them sprawl out since the soil isn't the richest in the back of that bed and we didn't want to plant too much there. 

[tomatoes and melons]

[watermelon]

We pulled up all our radishes since the plants were bolting and no radishes were actually forming beneath the soil. We think it may be because we did a hugel culture in that bed so there might not have been enough soil for the radishes to want to form in. It's all an experiment, that is for sure! Well our kale and mustard greens are still very happy in the bed and we've been harvesting kale already for smoothies in the morning. There's  nothing more amazing then just stepping out barefoot into your garden in the morning and picking fresh greens for your breakfast. Bliss!

All the other greens are still steadily growing. Lettuce is looking healthy. We actually have some random peas coming up in the third bed too and we're not quite sure if it was the birds that moved them or… well, something else, we're not sure. We moved the bean trellis from the front bed as well because it was in the back where, like I mentioned, the soil isn't the richest but also because it's under the cover of the house so wouldn't get the rain meaning more watering. 

Peas and cucumbers are still growing. The strawberries have been flowering for a while now but we've been picking off the flowers until they become a bit more root bound. I think we're at the point now where we will let them grow so hopefully we will have strawberries soon. What's interesting as well is that the strawberries in the ground look much healthier than the ones in the pot. Hmm.

We have some New Zealand spinach starts growing inside that will go in the ground in a week or so. 

That is all this week! Hope you had a lovely long weekend! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.