u s e y o u r h a n d s http://useyourhands.com Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:11:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Progress http://useyourhands.com/2013/03/10/progress/ http://useyourhands.com/2013/03/10/progress/#comments Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:10:58 +0000 admin http://useyourhands.com/?p=575 The seedlings, especially the tomatoes, are going crazy this year. I started my crops this year in a truly unremarkable mix of chunky, homemade compost and coir. Almost everything germinates in just a few days, just sitting on a kitchen radiator. No heat mats, no fussy temperature gauges this time around. Because they’re sprouting so quickly and because I’ve underestimated my planting desires, I’ve exhausted my supply of secondary containers. Remember, i start everything in folded toilet-paper tubes and transplant into paperboard or tetra pak containers sourced at home or from neighbors.

I was thinking about this a bit tonight, after a conversation on Facebook about work-life balance and ascribing value to different activities. I could buy a bag of compost for a few bucks (like, what, $10 for organic? Maybe $15? I have no idea) but why? It’s easy to make from waste we already have—but more than that, I like making compost. I like and value the process. I do not waste what I make myself.

And this is why I’m not destined for offices full-time any more. An office every now and again, or a few days a week, sure. But I need dirt and life on my hands to make them rough and wise. I need paper cuts and callouses from shovels and soap suds or snot wiped on my ample tummy. I don’t need a business suit or Spanx for me to feel valuable or worthwhile. Someone else does, and that someone is perfectly happy. But that someone is not me.

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