I work for a lively, entrepreneurial green biz by day and research and write the Village of Ordinary and its companion blog, Realizing Ordinary in spare minutes, too spare. Blog posts and lens updates are irregular, but always committed with passion and love. Image copyright 2006, Valerie C. Bauman. All rights reserved. http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Graceonline Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:37:54 -0600 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.squidoo.com/thatsbamboo Bamboo is the eco-wonder of the world. It pumps oxygen into the air faster than trees, feeds the hungry, clothes the body, soothes the ear, carries water, digs potatoes, shelters the homeless as well as the privileged, and in case all that is not enough, bamboo is just plain beautiful. Image courtesy Free Nature Pictures newsandpolitics Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:20:07 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/organicotton The scent of it, fresh from the dryer, the rich plush of thick Turkish towels in the bath. And who doesn't feel comforted the moment they crawl between freshly laundered cotton sheets? So what's all the buzz about organic cotton, and why should you care? Find out here. Plus, I've made it easy for you to test organic cotton clothing and items for your home with a generous selection of luxurious products. You'll love the feel of it. So will your family. Image courtesy Big Grey Mare shopping Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:24:48 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/tenminutemeditation When you can't drop everything and take a walk in the woods, this exercise can give you instant relief. You can do it anywhere. Use it when tensions rise in a meeting. It will calm you and help you focus on the task at hand. Take ten after work before launching your evening routine. Give yourself a break at the mall. You might discover you don't need one more cup of coffee to get through the day, and the kids don't need one more pair of Nikes. Trouble sleeping? You'll nod off before you know it. Image copyright graceonline All rights reserved. health Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:02:04 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/crystalwaters Located an hour and a half north of Brisbane, Australia, Crystal Waters is a planned eco-village. It's a place where everyone, from kids to grannies and grandpas, get their hands dirty and have a lot of fun doing it. Join me in discovering the journey from dream to reality. Image: Muddy Hands education Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:30:21 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/graceonline My passion, my mission is to make sure my grandbabies, and theirs, get to run wild in fields of tall grass, get to lie down and make snow angels under a crisp blue sky, and get to stand in awe at the wide, wide ocean stretching far and tall above their little heads. That's what most of these lenses are about. Hope you feel inspired! Image copyright 2007. All rights reserved. people Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:38:03 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/ordinarygraceonline What if ... every child grew up feeling wanted, loved and completely supported by family and community? What if ... we could all do work that gave us joy? What if ... we were so full of love ourselves that we viewed all other beings with compassion? What if ... we consciously lived in harmony with Nature and other animals? If you need a respite from an all-too violent and turbulent world, read The Village of Ordinary blog and participate in the vision of what life could be like if peaceful coexistence were, well, ordinary. Digital Stock Photography No Negatives. Used with permission. people Thu, 01 May 2008 00:23:43 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/earthaven Earthaven is an aspiring ecovillage in a mountain forest setting near Asheville, North Carolina. We are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning, living and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture. Earthaven EcoVillage Image: Keeping it green with pedal power education Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:24:59 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/BuildOrdinary_Community   They're known as eco-villages, cohousing or intentional communities. This lens explores several of them and answers these questions:        What is cohousing?        What do we mean by sustainable community?        Do normal people live in eco-villages?        What is an intentional community, anyway? Learn about it here! Image: Hearthstone, an urban cohousing community in North Denver, CO Photo by Evangeline Welch, courtesy Cohousing Association of the United States (CoHo/US) people Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:56:32 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/grasscycling How much time do you spend each week cutting your grass, stopping every few turns to remove the grass catcher, shake the clippings into a garbage sack, and reattach the bag? education Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:30:36 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/lesterrbrown From tomato farmer to "one of the world's most influential thinkers" (Washington Post) and "the guru of the environmental movement," (The Telegraph of Calcutta), Lester R. Brown's roots are deep, his vision wide-spreading. Learn more about the man and his work here. Image courtesy Earth Policy Institute people Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:05:41 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/shopgreen These days, it's easy being green. We've tons of choices, from the food we eat to the homes we build and furnish to the vehicles we drive and the fuel that powers them. Got green? Buy green! Photograph courtesy Free Nature Pictures shopping Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:23:05 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/AboutPlanB That's what it's all about. Saving our planet and ourselves. Here's what Brown says about why he wrote the book. Plan A, business-as-usual, has the world on an environmental path that is leading toward economic decline and eventual collapse. If our goal is to sustain economic progress, we have no choice other than move onto a new path--Plan B. Image courtesy Carlos Petros, used with permission education Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:43:29 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/PlanB_Roadmap_Starthere Road maps get us where we're going--if we know our starting point and our destination. This lens helps each of us find our starting point on Lester Brown's Plan B 2.0 map to worldwide prosperity and sustainability. With this lens, you can begin your own journey to building a sustainable economy, because it's going to take all of us, one way or another. Image credit: NASA's Visible Earth series newsandpolitics Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:21:48 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/groups..buildingordinary Building Ordinary This group is about ways all of us can make the Village of Ordinary--a fictional place where people live together in harmony with each other and the earth--real today, right now. Many people, the world over, are living this dream or working to make it happen. All lenses that join this group are part of that solution--part of making Ordinary so real and so much a part of everyday life that it can finally have a new name. May everyone who contributes here be many times blessed, and may all your endeavors to build Ordinary be successful beyond your wildest dreams. Namaste Image copyright 2007. All rights reserved. people Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:18:33 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/planbteam Word of mouth made Plan B BIG. People bought extra copies to give their friends. They sent them to their mayors and congressional leaders, sent them to the president. Author Lester Brown and the folks at Earth Policy Institute realized they had a huge unsung team of ordinary--and not so ordinary--citizens spontaneously spreading the word, book by book by book. In respect and honor for their contribution to the work of Plan B, the institute created the Plan B 2.0 Team. It's more than 1500 strong, and you can be a member too. Image courtesy Earth Policy Institute education Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:45:09 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/groups..Bamboo Bamboo A group for bamboo lenses. If you love bamboo and promote its many uses while protecting its native plantations we'd love you in our group. Image courtesy Free Nature Pictures. education Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:47:47 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/omnivoresdilemma arts Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:02:11 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/groups..planB Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a planet under stress and a civilization in trouble Zero in on Lester Brown's Plan B 2.0. Lenses in this group focus on aspects of the Plan. If you would like to submit a lens on Plan B 2.0, please read the eligibility points below. education Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:17:48 -0600