squirrelitude: (Default)
A good piece on international shipping and why it's all bollixed up right now, and is just going to get worse:

https://medium.com/@ryan79z28/im-a-twenty-year-truck-driver-i-will-tell-you-why-america-s-shipping-crisis-will-not-end-bbe0ebac6a91 (h/t siderea)

Note that this is specific to *ports*, which as I understand it largely affects international shipping. Domestic is less affected. There are still shipping issues domestically, but not as bad as the ports, since the ports have more restrictions and less capacity.

It seems like this is a *great* time to refocus on getting what you need from the local economy. Food is pretty easy to get from local sources, here in New England, but also think about furniture, clothing, tools, etc. Electronics... is probably a harder one. Medicine, too. Not everything can be sourced locally; we have an international economy for reasons. And local commerce is still going to be affected by international shipping issues, in second-order ways. But something to keep in mind.
squirrelitude: (Default)
A cool bit of local news that I missed until I happened to see an offhand reference in a national newspaper: Somerville has, to the extent it is possible for a city to do so, decriminalized all naturally-occurring psychedelic drugs: https://somervillecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?MeetingID=3289&ID=24035

- The city can't use "funds or resources" in enforcement of criminal penalties against "use or possession" of these plants (and fungi).
- Changed to be "amongst the lowest law enforcement priority": Cultivation and transactions of entheogenic plants/fungi; use/possession of controlled substances in general

Until the county, state, and federal government are on board there will of course be some risk of having your life ruined by possessing psychedelics, but... for people who were already at risk of having their life ruined by *not* having certain psychedelics, this is a big improvement.

(The city cites the opioid epidemic and the therapeutic uses of these drugs as strong reasons to make this change.)
squirrelitude: (Default)
I planted way too many Spilanthes plants (Acmella oleracea, a.k.a. Sichuan buttons, toothache plant, paracress) this year and I have far more flowers than I'll need for seedsaving. Would anyone like some fresh flowers and/or seeds?

If you're not familiar with it, chewing the leaves and especially the flowers produces a tingling sensation in the mouth, followed by numbing (and also salivation). It's a fun novelty plant, although you can also use the leaves in stew, albeit without the weird effects. I know at least one person who has made an extract and used it in a sorbet ("Electric Watermelon", I think?) If anyone local wants flowers or leaves, let me know and I can hook you up.

It also has pretty flowers and foliage. It's an annual and won't reseed in this climate, but it's easy to save seeds. I'll have seeds available later in the year if anyone is interested.
squirrelitude: (Default)
Does anyone know of a source in Camberville for organic corn tortillas (the soft kind) that don't have a bunch of extraneous weird-ass ingredients?

We've been in the habit of buying "Food For Life" brand sprouted corn tortillas, but I've only found them at Harvest Co-op, and Harvest will either be going out of business or changing into a different grocery store soon, so I'll likely need a new source. (Also, they aren't always in stock.)

I know there's also some local vendor that makes corn tortillas, which I've only seen at farmers markets and one time at Cambridge Naturals. I'm guessing Whole Foods is my best bet, but I'm trying to avoid shopping there now that it's a pseudopod of Amazon, and I couldn't find any there the last time I went, anyhow.

Acceptable ingredients: Corn, water, salt, mineral lime. Products that I find in the store introduce thickeners and preservatives like guar gum and propionic acid and go downhill from there to things I've never heard of and don't feel like researching, sometimes to the tune of 20 ingredients. For tortillas!

(We used to have a tortilla press, and would make our own from masa harina (flour from corn that was soaked in limestone water), salt, and hot water. It's pretty time-consuming, though!)

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