Firing the Grid

Mr Dancer has recovered a lot of lost ground with me, today, because he encouraged Lisbeth to join him in 'Firing the Grid'. The 'firethegrid' event took place with people all over the world at 11.11 GMT - 1.11 here in France. (If the site won't work it's because of overload today as so many people accessed it at the same time.) What you humans were asked to do was to spend the hour sending out positive energy to the planet to heal it by meditating, praying, thinking positive thoughts etc. You chose whatever felt most appropriate. I know this sounds a bit flakey but it isn't really. Animals are still in the grid. It's just you humans who have become separated and are harming the earth.

Mr dancer's contribution was to write and draw. I also heard him saying he would use Streisand? I don't know if this is a technique or something but he spent the hour near me writing and drawing and wearing some round things over his ears and made strange noises while he walked in the garden. Lisbeth did 'mindful weeding' (whatever that is!)

Anyway, I am proud of both of them. They did their thing for the designated hour, then went out to the shops to look for boxes for the flat.

From clutter to cash update, update!

We can certainly say that Lisbeth's heart was in the right place when she opted to sell her clutter for Comic Relief. However, her brain seems to have been on hold when she counted her takings. When she took the money into the Post Office today she found that she had £95.00 not £75.00!

From clutter to cash update

Lisbeth has had a count up and, adding in the sale of a sledge today, the grand total is £75.00. "Well done you, Madame House Mate." A great success and well worth the effort. I think she still has quite a lot of things left but I expect she'll take it all to a charity shop. It's not only important for the house to be free from clutter but for Lisbeth's internal landscape to be free of mental clutter. Hence, clearing the former can help with letting go and clearing the latter....or so I'm told!

From clutter to cash

A rare photo of my house mate, sporting her Comic Relief red nose, selling her stuff in the garden. She said that she did her best to prevail upon the locals, en route to the shop, to buy as many items as possible before the rain and cold weather arrived. I don't know how much she made but I'll keep you posted.

Comic Relief

Lisbeth says that I should ask all my readers to: Give as much as you can to Comic Relief this weekend.

Something red for the weekend?

Have you noticed how often I use questions? I have questions within poems; often use them as post titles, as well as having sprinklings within my posts. Perhaps you could say I adopt a 'questioning approach' to how I construct my posts (or engage my readers)?

But I digress. My title, today, refers to Red Nose Day. It seems that Lisbeth is planning something but not on Red Nose Day itself. She's considering getting rid of some of her clutter by having a garage sale on Saturday (although she doesn't have a garage). She does have a small front garden and, as she lives next to a shop, there should be plenty of passing trade.

As a point of interest, did you know about the Westminster Nose-Free Zone? (Now that is a good question.) If you don't, you should click, read and think-on, as they say........

Better late than nothing

Oh dear..............Lisbeth lost track of the time and, having thought about it all day, was doing something else at the 'powering down' time! So she did the powering down, an hour later than planned, with Italy. I know it isn't as good as doing it on UK time but better to do something than nothing. One good thing to come out of it is our discussion about focus. She says that her forgetting is because she was not focused on what is important to her and if you want to make something happen, you have to focus on what is important and actually make it happen.

Power down for the planet

The 1st of February 2007:

Participate in the biggest mobilization of Citizens Against Global Warming! The Alliance for the Planet [a group of environmental associations] is calling on all citizens to create 5 minutes of electrical rest for the planet.

People all over the world should turn off their lights and electrical appliances on the 1st of February 2007, between 1.55 pm and 2.00 pm in New York, 18.55 for London, and 19.55 for Paris, Brussels, and Italy. 1.55 pm in Ottawa, 10.55 am on the Pacific Coast of North America, 1.55 and 2.00 am in Vietnam.

This is not just about saving 5 minutes worth of electricity; this is about getting the attention of the media, politicians, and ourselves. Five minutes of electrical down time for the planet: this does not take long, costs nothing, and will show all political leaders that global warming is an issue that needs to come first and foremost in political debate.

Why February 1st? This is the day when the new UN report on global climate change will come out in Paris. This event affects us all, involves us all, and provides an occasion to show important an issue global warming is to us. If we all participate, this action can have real media and political weight.

Guantánamo protesters without ID

90 Guantanamo protesters arrested in Washington

"Ninety protesters demonstrating against the US "war on terror" prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were arrested after illegally entering a federal court building, a demonstration organizer said.

"Most of those arrested did not bring their own identification, and instead took the name of people in Guantanamo, in an attempt to actually read them into a federal court record," said Matthew Daloisio, a member of the organization Witness Against Torture."

Guantánamo: doing something

Lisbeth has been thinking more and more about the fiasco that is Guantánamo. Every day when she goes to bed, eats a nice meal, shares time with friends or just chooses what to do next, she remembers the people held in Guantánamo. Today she decided to take some small action to express her concerns and has printed out letters to send to the American Embassy in London.

There is a permanent link to 'Ten things you can do' in the Things I care about list.