Would you give away your last Rollo? What is it that you think you cannot live without? Today’s challenge is to give away something that is important to you.
As I am now in California, I made a choice not to bring my laptop computer. I have an iPhone and an iPad, so I am still well connected. But the laptop is heavy to carry around the airport, plus it is challenging to figure out how to carry it, my camera and my purse in one carryon bag. So I left it at home. (I have borrowed Trina & Gary’s computer to do this.)
In the eight years I’ve owned that laptop my lifestyle has changed. When I had only a desk computer I would spend far less time in front of the screen. But the laptop can come with me anywhere. And it does.
I have not given it away, nor do I intend to, but I will live without it for 10 days.
Today’s challenge is to offer someone a care package. Something essential to their health/happiness that they might not have time or energy for, but your gift can give them so much more.
Today I am packing ready to leave for California. Cheryl and I had lunch with Mom at noon as I will miss the next two Sundays. Now my bags are packed, my house is clean and I’m about to take the small dog over to Myron. After a few hours of sleep (I hope) I will be up early to go to the airport.
Mina is also excited, waiting for me to come. She wanted to go to bed in the middle of the afternoon – so tomorrow will come faster. Love you, Child! So glad to be able to spend some days with you again.
Today’s challenge asked us to consider our consuming. “Small things, every day, make a difference.”
When Trina and Gary moved to California I changed the way I spent money. I wanted to visit them twice a year. Every year they’ve been there plane tickets have gotten more expensive, as have many other things, especially my condo fees. Ever since that first trip the first question I ask myself in a store is, “Do I want this, or do I want a plane ticket?” It’s amazing how little I really need.
I hope one day I will not have to make twice-yearly trips to California. I hope I will always remember to carefully consider how much I am consuming.
I think today’s challenge is related to yesterday’s — today the only challenge is to smile! To smile as much as possible. First you need to see others and then you can brighten their day with a smile. I know that sometimes I can be so buried in my own thoughts that I don’t see others. I find it interesting, when I walk the dog, how many people will smile or say hello. I need to initiate more often.
Today’s challenge is to support fair trade wherever possible. Too often the big corporations that supply items for large retail chains care more about their profits than about the product or the people that produce that product. Fair trade seeks to rectify that by ensuring the producers are getting a fair price and that the production practices are sustainable.
There are many products that are fair trade, from coffee and cocoa to clothing and accessories. Organizations like Ten Thousand Villages base their operations on fair trade.
I used to buy fair trade coffee from Baden Coffee Company, but then found out that my own brother buys green coffee beans and roasts them himself. Now I buy half a pound, ensuring freshness, at a time from Don. This is what he had to say about the beans:
Freshly roasted coffee beans from my brother, Don.
“The coffee beans I buy are fair trade organic certified. FTO as it is known is better than not although it is not perfect. Fair Trade means farmers are guaranteed a certain price ahead of time for their beans so they have some basis for deciding and planning. If the price of coffee is lower than their guaranteed price they are paid on the contracted price. Two things are not so good, one is that if the price increases by the time the crop comes off they do not benefit from this increase in value and the other fact is they are still paying quite a few “middle men” in the process.
A better way yet to buy beans is “Direct Trade” as it’s often called which is generally some kind of cooperative of farmers selling directly to importers who then roast the beans or maybe sell to other roasters. The cooperative shares the risk with everyone but also the benefits if markets go up.
Non Fair Trade likely means the buyer has simply offered the lowest price he can for various reasons and then marks it up as high as he can.
That’s a condensed version of the ways to get coffee.
The decaf coffee I roast for you is almost always Nicaraguan and the regular coffee is Ethiopian or Kenyan most of the time.”
