Lately, I find I am angry and irritated for a large part of the day, so my challenges this year are focused on getting back some of the joy I have always felt when more connected to the natural world.  I'm going to try new food prep ideas (esp. for slow foods and whole foods) that give me comfort during harvest season, explore some of the many nature trails in my neighborhood and enjoy the fall colors with friends and family, declutter my home by finding ways to reuse and recycle some of the extra things that have accumulated, and express gratitude and appreciation daily to help nurture my optimism and balance out my irritation.  Of course, I'm still going to advocate for change and environmental responsibility every day, but I will try to temper my anger and irritation to be more effective in my quest for system changes.

Have been a vegan for seven years and a vegetarian for 27 year before that.  Took two totally enclosed composters to my church, so hopefully, I will use this compost next year on our church garden.

 Donated a kidney on my 65th birthday.

I recycle to raise mission money for my church.  If a plastic item does not have a number on it, I write to the company to ask what kind of plastic the item is.  Ippolito Foods liked my letter and sent me a huge reusable bag in reply, and the answer to my question.  One quandry:  the wire item that holds that spinach or other green, with a tag with the grower's name on it.  I was told that they are #6.  But they do not look like Styrofoam.  So I am loathe to put them into my #6 recycling container.  During this challenge I will pursue this question of both the wired part and the tag and how to recycle these items.