I hope you had a fantastic Fourth of July holiday! I am back in town after a great vacation upstate in the Adirondacks (Lake George area). We celebrated my husband’s and his friends’ 50th birthday party with hiking to a waterfall gleaming with rainbows, white water rafting (my first time) on the Hudson River with lovely nature guides Link and Lori of www.squareeddy.com(Lori also bakes the MOST amazing gluten-free baked goods), shopping at the local Farmers’ Markets, and sight-seeing around some charming towns, such as Bolton Landing. It is a very beautiful area of New York State, and I highly recommend a visit. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the maple syrup from New York was even better than what I normally buy from VT. I also discovered a great natural skincare company – check out www.radsoap.comand for an online discount order, use code: shugabub1. I purchased their natural bug spray that has garlic in it (but, don’t worry, you won’t reak of garlic because the other essential oils smell delicious), some aromatherapy shower soaps, and an evening skin lotion with lavender and melatonin to help this night owl drift to sleep. Radsoap is now in some Whole Foods, so look for their products there as well.
Speaking of the Hudson River, the downstate region of the glorious Hudson is being celebrated with fun “City of Water Day” activities this Saturday on Governor’s Island, the Southstreet Seaport, and Hoboken, NJ. Check out this local alliance’s website for the link to the day’s events:
http://www.waterfrontalliance.org/about
I plan on volunteering on Governor’s Island in the afternoon with the anti-fracking organization United for Action. If you are there, come look for our UFA table, sign a petition to keep our waters clean and free from fracking toxins, and say hi. Also, if you are interested in this Sunday’s climate march in Washington, DC (seeking a ban on gas exports and gas ports which creates more demand for fracking in our country), please see www.unitedforaction.org .
Here are some relevant and inspiring quotes!
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember that you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
– Margaret Atwood
“In today’s highly interdependent world, individuals and nations can no longer resolve many of their problems by themselves. We need one another. We must therefore develop a sense of universal responsibility . . . It is our collective and individual responsibility to protect and nurture the global family, to support its weaker members, and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.” THE DALAI LAMA
