Author: jennynazak

Flows will get you through times of no stocks, better than stocks will get you through times of no flows.

A big part of why I answered this multiple-choice survey the way i did.

Added Later – in this post I was not requesting advice. I am going to say what I would choose, and all of you are totally invited to say what you would choose.

For many reasons, both personal and collective, I have no desire to make six figures. #Degrowth

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I would actually only pick one of these — i would choose
2) $2500 per month. That’s a huge amount of money for me, it’s twice what I live on now.

If I didn’t already have my mortgage-free house, I would also pick

6) $100,000. And would use that toward buying a house.

Regarding the remaining items, and why I don’t need them:

1) Car. I actually prefer not to own a car at all, let alone a new one. I have carefully arranged my life so as not to need to own a car again. You couldn’t give me a car, and couldn’t pay me enough to take on the burdens of car ownership.

3) 800 credit score. Not necessary, I don’t need to borrow money. But actually my credit score is already around that level.

4) 6-figure job. With $2500 a month, NO job is necessary for me! I live on half of that now. So if I were getting 2500 a month I could give away 1000 a month to help & support people who need it.

5) Retire at 40. Well, I’m 63 so that’s kind of moot. Also, I’m not into the concept of retirement. I’m a writer and activist and artist. We don’t retire. (I did terminate my landscaping business, because my knees — as well as my wish to focus on writing — were strongly suggesting that I pass that work on to the younger people. I still enjoy the heck out of landscaping, and do some pretty heavy manual labor – just not on the clock.)

Someone in the non-consumer advocate just asked this question. She said she says three motives: environmental; financial; and just “baked-in” – as in, have always been thrifty (whether because our grandparents went through the Depression, or we feel like we were just born this way, or whatever).

I replied:

Like so many others who responded to this question, I am all three: 1) eco-social; 2) financial; and 3) “baked in” (which for me includes my artistic aesthetic of shabby/stylish).

Oh, and there’s also crafty, I don’t know if that fits into one of the categories, or all, or a fourth. Depends what day it is ha ha!

(BTW this post was clipped from an incredibly enjoyable and practical group called @the non-consumer advocate. It’s a private group, So I cannot share directly here. But you can read the post in its entirety — as well as so many other excellent posts, with extensive comment sections — by joining the group. If you are not already a member, which many of my friends and followers already are! It’s been fun seeing lots of you guys in there.)

I can’t seem to tag the group but the name is the non-consumer advocate. There are about 100,000 members and they live all around the world so you can imagine how rich a resource this group is.

Update:

Oh wow! The group is up to 163K members now! Here is a screenshot so you can visually identify it, and here is the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19zftYJ2Qc/?mibextid=K35XfP

The Non-Consumer Advocate is the name you type into the Facebook search field in case the link does not work for you.

See my post here on Facebook to see the visual screenshot of the group. It’s in the comments.

When a branch over the sidewalk hangs low … we have all our DUCKS in a row!!

When a branch of a beautiful sea grape is hanging over the sidewalk, it might be necessary to send a friendly reminder to people who are taller than about 6 foot 2 … And what better way to remind them to … DUCK!!!

Thanks again to a local friend for the adorable duckies she had to spare! I might paint the wine-corks blue (to look like water they are “bobbing afloat” atop of; & provide extra visibility as well). Haven’t decided that yet – wine-corks look so cute in their natural state.

501 House, Trailhead 501, Starshine House, Daytona Beach Permaculture Guild, DBPG headquarters, sidewalk safety, humor, joy, beauty, community-building

PS. Yes, of course, cutting the branch would be an option, and I may end up having to do that, but I am trying this first. We need all the examples we can get, of heat mitigation including shade over sidewalks. It gets crispy over here on the barrier island what with official landscaping practices undermining the sponge and all. Plus the sea-grape is just so beautiful.

And bee-sides all that, sea-grape fruits are a yummy little snack (a bit raisiny tasting), very much worth the effort even though the pit accounts for a large proportion of the total volume of fruit. Note, you need to wait for them to ripen to a purply state, don’t grab them in the pink magenta-y stage, be patient unless you crave a very sour snack!

See pics here, on the Daytona Beach Permaculture guild Facebook page, for as long as the will of Zucc shall allow, <wink>

Cleaning out years-old emails, I found a complaint from someone who felt that the topics of a discussion group were not serious enough.

Here’s the original message:

I expressed to many of you today that i thought the mix of discussion group subjects lately had become way too bland and ‘milk toast’, in light of what is going on around us, everywhere. Topics like memorable vacation experiences, my favorite cruise line, favorite movies, the joys of macrame (?) are so miniscule to deeper and more serious issues confronting us all, geo-politically, culturally,
economically, legally, environmentally, wars and mass migrations, etc. Each week we nominate topic proposals to discuss and then a vote is taken to select just one topic.
I think that DG participants should endeavor to suggest more serious topics.

And here is my response:

Agree – and I trust that Mr. ____ himself has been doing his part to suggest the serious topics he craves.

That said, ANY topic can be used to discuss one’s own deep passions and concerns.

For example, I would use “macrame” to discuss the value of quiet hobbies that induce a peaceful meditative state in the participant and can be a tool for addressing mental-health issues.

I’d also talk about how my grandmothers taught me to sew, knit, and crochet, and how deeply beneficial it has been to my life in so many ways.

And I would use “cruise ships” to talk about gluttony, hyperconsumerism, carbon footprint, and the infantilization of our elder population.

BTW my favorite cruise line would be one that either goes out of business, or uses sailboats or kayaks!

This group email exchange was from back in 2021. Reading it again just now, it occurs to me that many people in USA society have only become even more emotionally fragile over the years. Therefore, many might actually be resistant to more serious topics.

And so it occurs to me that it might actually be a good strategy to choose innocuous topics like macramé, my beloved animal companion, my favorite childhood memory, etc. People can stick to the topic if they prefer, while those who want to go deeper can use the topic as an on-ramp or springboard. And even the people who don’t want to go deep will still end up hearing some deep discussion (assuming they don’t get really upset and walk out of the room).

Mini “beach” made with an old sardine tin. Elements: string of sparkling blue+green beads; little carved stone turtle (both can serve as components for a bracelet or necklace); local sea shell; local sand; tea-light candle.

The beads are part of a bead collection I have had forever. The tea-light is from a large bag of brand-new tea-lights that somebody was throwing away.

This mini world is one I made for a super kind & compassionate friend who is constantly helping animals and picking up trash off our local beach.

You can see a pic here at my art page, art & design by jenny nazak, on Facebook

This thrifty and one-of-a-kind gift concept could obviously be adapted in many ways. You could make a mini forest, a little urban street scene, an interplanetary space world, or any other beloved pocket universe of your imagining.

Good morning from our “secret garden”!
Went for a lovely pre-dawn dip under the full moon. Then back at the ranch, heated my coffee-water over the twig-stove and did a little fire ritual as well.

#fullmoon
#ancestors #gratitude
#oceanlife
#urbanpocketparkyard
#HomegrownNationalPark
#StarshineHouse Trailhead501

pix here on my DEEP GREEN facebook page

abandoned buildings = RICH BLIGHT. If you see an unhoused neighbor sheltering on abandoned property … no you didn’t <wink>

BTW I don’t know if the phrase “rich blight” is established in any way; it’s one that I thought of and used for the first time back in 2015 when I spoke at the inaugural Elevate event in Daytona Beach. A mini TEDTalk style event.

Here’s the YouTube link to my 5+ minute talk if you’re interested. As the title suggests, I propose various ideas for “filling our empty [urban] spaces.”