Pretty Happy Funny Real Life

Pretty, Happy, Funny

We bought a new mattress, so I let the kids jump on the old one until the delivery man got there. And then Boy cried when the nine-year old mattress left the house. I told you that we take change a bit dramatically around here. And yes, our bedroom is newly painted rose. I think all the dark brown in the drapes and furniture will balance it out and it will be pretty without being too girly.

Real
The Nativity fast/Advent starts on the 15th for us Byzantine Catholics (St Philip's fast because it starts the day after his feast)- as usual, I am thinking about China- click on my 'China' and 'Christmas' labels to your right to see where I am coming from.

more {phfr} at  Like Mother, Like Daughter

Once more, with feeling...

Epiphany/Theophany has come and gone, so the highest holidays of the Christmas season are over. Most of us have been busy with cleaning and decluttering and organizing after the decadent (whether or not we feel well-off- if one lives in the West and has computer access, one is richer than most of the world) past weeks. We have had a lot of fun and opened a lot of presents from family and friends. I don't look at labels or countries of origin when we receive a gift- but this little gift gave me pause.

I must admit, when we got four of these 'stockings' I first thought to myself- Does Soulemama get these kinds of gifts? No, she probably receives only intentional gifts of organic, hand-dyed, local somethings (I kid- she is a favorite even though I will never live the life on her blog). But then I got mad.

I'm not mad at the lovely person who probably thought to herself on the way to Christmas Liturgy that she just had to have a treat to give to the kids. I really appreciate that, for the most part, my children are loved  by those who join us at church.  I'm just at mad at the situation that we seem to be in the West. In our lust for cheap goods, we have sold so much of our manufacturing backbone to China. We expect everything to be 99 cents. We consider it a triumph when candy canes are made in Mexico instead of China. 

I remember learning in high school that the two important industries of Oregon were being sent to China- lumber and salmon would be harvested in Oregon but processed in China, then sent back to the States with Made in America tags. But who wants to pay $20 a pound for processed in America salmon? Just a bit of food for thought...

click on the 'China' label below for other posts of mine on the subject

Rachel weeping for her children

There is no utopia here on Earth. While we set off fireworks and sing anthems to the greatness that is the United States (for fellow American readers), we know we aren't perfect and we fall short of our constitution and God's laws. Our true citizenship lies with Heaven. We wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.

But even though we fall short, there is such an evil in communist China today with their one-child policy that forces sterilizations and abortions on women. Women's rights to basic health care, education, safety and other freedoms (the vote, right to own property, right to hold a passport) are a challenge throughout the world, but China is able to continue their abusive and satan-inspired policies with impunity. They are so huge economically. The West depends on their cheap goods. The West depends on China's buying of their debt. 

Watch this video (found at deltaflute's blog)(the middle of the video has a sad, disturbing image- skip over if you are sensitive- I closed my eyes) for a little 'inspiration' to work harder at boycotting Chinese goods as much as possible....I just got an old, American made sewing machine. The interior is all steel- not plastic components like the new Chinese made ones. A little creativity goes a long way...try clicking on my label 'shopping' for older blog posts on China and shopping.

Have yourself a made-in-China-free Christmas

Someday, I am going to be a radically perfect woman who eats all organic from my personal farm, makes most clothes from hand-woven cloth and buys only fair trade goods. That day is not today. I believe in small changes for the betterment of my immediate family and can simply hope that other families are doing even more and believing in the 'let peace begin with me' way of life.

I have been pretty successful with not buying Christmas and Easter decor from anti-Christian China for the past few years, and I am going to continue. Yes, other countries are also not-so-perfect, but I am starting somewhere. And China is such a giant of  industry, it makes other anti-Christian countries' seem like ants in their efforts to compete. In any case, if I don't start somewhere, I will be paralyzed and do nothing.  Here are some ideas I am going to use that you also might find helpful

1. If you want to join me in reducing your purchases from Chinese manufacturers for Christmas time, we have to start planning now! Make a budget & decide with immediate and extended family about gifts, special meals and travel.

2. Go handmade or thrifted- start with ebay, etsy, and maybe craigslist for ideas for gifts. Buy as you go along. Etsy is a treasure trove of endless handmade delights. So be careful with the pocketbook. You can even have something created only for you with artists competing for your project. You can't do this in December, so start now.

3. Once again, organization is key. Keep a box in your closet for the presents you have already bought (perhaps one box for presents to be mailed and one box for presents that will stay in the house). Duct tape the shopping bag closed for each gift and maybe use a sharpie pen to label it in secret code. I don't wrap until December. Keep a list in your wallet of the people that you have gotten a gift for so you don't forget (ask me how I know)

4. It's hard to feel creative now- school is wrapping up & summer can be the busiest season of all, but start planning and making handmade gifts now. I'm going through all my wayward crafting and sewing items and starting from there. My extended family doesn't 'need' anything, so they will be getting either consumable items or sentimental stuff that they can't get rid of! My family isn't the type that exchanges the latest electronic gadget so there isn't pressure to spend a lot- but I have to get packages in the mail early to save money and stress. My goal is to finish all the gifts before November15th- the beginning of St Phillip's Fast (Advent)

5. Buy less, reuse more, fix what is broken, take care of what you have, find ideas for Advent & Christmas now in blog archives and start now, tell kids they will have an experience (riding lessons, skating party with friends after Christmas day, picnic & movie with dad, visit to grandma's, tea with auntie, etc, etc) rather than an I-Pad 2 like their next-door neighbors, choose a good charity and donate with the children, make some simple quilts for the local crisis pregnancy center, choose a family on the giving tree (but still steer clear of junkish toys) decorate with less and it will be more elegant, clean out the pantry and bake with the entire family- everyone cleans up, bring back bringing plates of cookies to neighbors and co-workers (find a good sugar cookie recipe and then sprinkle in different color-easy), plan to find your place in church & volunteer your time & talents

6. Click on the 'China' topic at the bottom of this post for older posts on this topic. I am probably repeating myself, but I feel strongly about this issue.

7. Just to let readers know, I do not look a gift horse in the mouth and inspect things given to me to see if it was made in China. Not everyone is concerned with this issue, and I am not where I want to be yet- I'm going to try to take the plank out of my eye first. It is a challenge to not buy from China. It is basically impossible when one is on a budget. But I believe we should attempt to reduce our dependence on Chinese manufactured goods as we should reduce dependence on foreign oil. So maybe all we can do right now is walk more and thrift more.

Reasons to Boycott Chinese Made Goods  

with permission from deltaflute.blogspot.com

1) Safety- there have been toys testing positive for lead paint and tainted dog food

2) China frequently imprisons political dissidents who want democracy in China

3) China has hacked into Google and continues to pose a threat to security in the Pentagon

4) China is placing long range missiles to target Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Guam

5) China dominates the Yellow Sea

6) China sends spies to the United States

7) China invaded and continues to occupy Tibet destroying its culture.

8) China lays claim to Taiwan despite the Taiwanese having an independent government.

9) China is a Communist country with only one political party.

10) China heavily restricts religious freedom.

11) China heavily restricts freedom of speech and information.

12) Many American companies have set up shop in China leaving the US factory worker without a job.

13) China has a one-child only policy. This forces Chinese to make the painful decision to abort or have to support another child on their own.

14) Unfair labor conditions for the average Chinese worker

A Chinese-Light-Free Christmas- 7 QuickTakes

This week, I've been exploring the 'Chinese problem' when it comes to Christmas. How can we joyfully prepare and decorate for the holiday with products made by exploited workers in crowded dormitories far from home, workers who are forced into following the one-child policy, sterilizations and abortions?

I feel grim about the future; the West has been depending on Chinese (and yes, other countries) cheap labor for a long time, turning its face from the harsh realities of worker abuse. I decided I would take a stand about six years ago- I don't buy Christmas or Easter-themed items from communist, anti-Christian China. So I don't buy very much. Here are some ideas that I have used or plan to use. I still love to decorate for the holidays (that's 'holy days' for you, Dad!)

1. Re-use old lights (most likely made in China). There is no sense in filling landfills with working lights. Preserve old lights for the next year by untangling, rolling and putting in a spot where they won't get crushed. My lights that I use are 7 years old. My point with these posts is to discourage readers from buying more Chinese lights.

2. Make a Jesse Tree. This is a great memory from my childhood. A Jesse Tree is a tree (or branch or other way to display the ornaments) with ornaments that the family makes that covers salvation history. We used paper Jesse Tree ornaments that my parents bought years ago. I learned a lot of scripture, and it is a beautiful reminder of the meaning of the holiday.

3. Store all Christmas items together. Yes, I have been doing this for about four years. Before that, Christmas decorations, books and music were scattered. Not rocket science, but it helps creativity if holiday items are easy to get to. Things will be less likely to break, so you can re-use instead of buy like items. I have a friend who has a lot of Christmas books in a big, special tub; she brings it out only for the holidays. The books themselves are decorative because they are different than what is usually around.

4. Use natural items to decorate. Ideas abound at marthastewart.com and even notmartha.org- if you live in the North, decorating with evergreens is easy and traditional. Live in the South? Use the vegetation native to you. Californians can use ecalyptus! Ecologists state that one has to have an (most likely Chines made) artificial Christmas tree for over 8 years before it 'equals' the environmental impact of buying a farmed, natural tree. So, support Oregon's economy and make a natural tree part of your budget.

5. Embrace a Christmas-style minimilism. I would never presume that anyone would prefer an empty, minimilist house during the holidays. The decorations are part of the fun. BUT is it necessary to buy new decorations each year (yes, people do this)? The clutter-free aspect of this comes in when one buys things with intention, not just filling up the cart with the latest sale items. Beautiful, simple decorations would be a simple line of lights (hopefully saved from years past until I can convince Walmart to open an American factory) along the roofline and then a natural wreath on the front door. The over-the-top lighting display, which are fun and festive, actually are counter-productive to the true celebration of Advent and Christmas. Until December 25th, we are actually in a season of preparation/penitence, but that is for other post.

6. Get Crafty. If your natural tree is your center-piece, use old, memory-rich ornaments and let the kids contribute! In my opinion, the new (Chinese made, natch) foam kits just are not pleasing to the eye.  Work during the year on easy crafts that lend themselves to be ornaments on a tree. An easy decorating idea is to have ornaments hanging from a cord along the windows- a good way to keep precious ornaments out of little hands. The blog Like Mother, Like Daughter is the perfect place to get inspiration- here's an example of their 'if I can do it, you can too' philosophy.

7. Make time for the important things. Baking, cooking, time with family and friends, playing Christmas music, special devotions- these are the things that are important and what your kids will remember. They won't remember fondly the times we moms struggled at the shopping malls for the perfect new gadget. They won't remember that we cut down on the new Christmas lights. They will remember that we celebrated the birth of our Lord. That is what is important; we can't lose sight of that.

UPDATE: I'm thinking of more ideas- one I forgot was- Go Thrifting! We just got back from the thrift store, buying parts of All Saints'  and trick or treating costumes. LOTS of possibilities

Why NOT buy Christmas lights made in China?

Since writing on Tuesday, I've been searching for a non-Chinese, fair-trade solution to buying lights made by prisoners and slave-immigrants and indentured servants. What have I learned?

As far as I can surmise, Christmas lights are not made in the United States or Europe at the present time.  China has a monopoly on their manufacture. Holiday lights were invented in the United States in the 1920's and were manufactured here by several companies including General Electric. Until the early 1960's, the US was the largest maker of Christmas lights in the world. Companies prospered making these lights in the U.S. until they lost most of their business to foreign competitors who were able to manufacture the light sets for less money. Because making these lights involves many processes that cannot be automated, companies located in countries where manual labor was cheap began to dominate the market.

The Western consumer wants more for less--it's that simple. In order to give the consumer cheap prices, makers of Christmas lights and other products were forced to look abroad for cheap labor. Currently, most Christmas lights are made in China because it has a  huge pool of relatively cheap labor and large supplies of the raw materials  (copper and other minerals) needed to manufacture Christmas lights. Industry experts estimate that the cost to manufacture the light sets would more than triple if made in the U.S. (source: holidayleds.com)

Reasons NOT to buy Christmas lights from China

• Workers' Rights and the Absence of Rights- "The reform policy in China since 1980 has opened for migration from the countryside to the cities. Between 100 and 200 million peasants are believed to work in urban areas and they suffer discrimination and harassment from employers and city people. Due to a household registration system their legal status is different from urban residents. The system in itself constitutes discrimination and due to their low status migrants and their families are suffering from infringements of their rights to decent working conditions, an adequate standard of living, family life and primary education." (source: Discrimination of Chinese Peasant Workers, Hatla Thelle)

•  Lack of Reasonable Ecological Protections for Workers and the Environment- Christmas lights carry a warning label: "Handling the coated electrical wires of this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm". Lead also causes brain damage in children with no known safe exposure level. Prop 65 of California only addresses birth defects, so if lead only caused severe brain damage in children, but not birth defects or cancer, no warning would appear. Electrical cords contain lead within the PVC covering. Christmas lights from China (all of them) can contain quite a bit more lead since there's no effective regulation of lead in China; now that all lights come from China, there's no other option for US consumers. It might be unsafe for our children to handle these lights. It is unsafe for the workers who are exposed to lead up to twelve hours a day.

• The Lack of Consumer Choice-  No matter what side of the political spectrum one might be on, it should give one pause that one country is becoming the sole manufacturer of our goods. We are left with little choice; it seems that the tidal wave is crashing down upon us and we will be forced to kowtow to China and yes, the multi-national corporations that benefit from monopolies.

• The One-Child Policy and Forced Abortions and Sterilizations- This policy has been in existence for over thirty years, so it is 'just the way it is' in China. Finding information on this policy will break your heart. The world has so many problems; it would be easier to look the other way and be in denial. China is not the only country with human rights violations; Europe and the U.S. have their own problems as well. It is just that China's one-child policy is so 'in your face' with its contempt for all human life. Even if one is a staunch pro-choice feminist- and perhaps because one is a feminist- the cries of these women cannot and should not be ignored. Personally, I cannot enjoy a tree covered in the results of the one-child policy. And yes, it is a very small gesture for these women, but I will continue to not buy Christmas lights until someone (hint, hint?) makes them in a country where human rights are not violated.

My '7 Quick Takes' post tomorrow will suggest some ways to decorate for the holidays without buying new lights made in China. See you then!

For Christian friends: It is important to not despair- here are some prayers that I've been praying for the women who suffer in China (and other places)....

PRO-LIFE MEDITATIONS ON THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY

By Fr. Frank Pavone

The Agony in the Garden
Let us pray for mothers and fathers who are in agony because they are tempted to abort a child. May they be given the good news that there are alternatives, and may they make use of the help that is available.

The Scourging
As Christ's flesh was torn by the instruments of those who scourged Him, so the bodies of babies in the womb are torn by the instruments of the abortionists. Let us pray that abortionists may repent of these acts of child-killing.

The Crowning With Thorns
Jesus suffered the pain of thorns in His head, and did so silently. We pray for the mothers and fathers of aborted children. So many of them suffer deep grief and regret over a choice they can never reverse. So many suffer in silence, because others tell them it's nothing.

The Carrying of the Cross
Jesus was not condemned by the power of wicked people. He was condemned because of the silence of good people. Silence always helps the oppressor, never the victim. Let us pray that we may never be silent about abortion, but rather will clearly speak up to save babies from death.

The Crucifixion
As we ponder the death of Christ, let us remember the many women who have died from so-called "safe, legal" abortions. Let us ask forgiveness and mercy for them. May their memory save other women from making this tragic mistake.

Restoration of the Holiness and Protection of the Womb

Oh Holy God, our Rock and our Fortress, you used the womb of Mary to be a tabernacle for the dwelling of the Incarnation, where the Holy Son of God was to be nurtured and protected. You created the womb of woman that the miracle of human life might be nurtured and protected. Many women have been deceived to believe that their womb is not a place of holy protection for a human life, but that it is simply another appendage of their body. Renew and restore your purpose and will concerning the womb of all women throughout the earth, that you may be glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

For Governments

Oh Ruler of the nations, many of the kings of the earth have set themselves against you; they rebel against your rule. Yet you have set your King on your holy hill of Zion so that in every local, state, provincial and national government you would rule in the midst of your enemies. We pray that you would strengthen and uphold those rulers that, by your grace, are following your ways and purpose. Make your enemies a footstool for your feet, that all people in all nations would kiss the Son, so they may know that happy are those who take refuge in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, forever and ever. Amen

I'm dreaming of a made-in-China-lights-free Christmas

Imagine your beautiful evergreen decorated with ornaments collected over the years, the latest kid-made creations, twinkling lights, and a star or angel at the top. You sit on your comfy couch with a mug of cocoa in your hand, listening to Nat King Coles' Christmas album and watching the kids look at the gifts and try to guess what they contain. You wonder: Midnight Mass or morning Mass? Caroling with the Smiths or the Murphys? Do we have time to make tamales with the Rodrieguez family this year?

Contrast this lovely image with the reality of working at a Christmas lights factory in China. Not only are you far from family and living in cramped and unsanitary dormitories, you don't know what this "Christmas" is; you would be in trouble with the party if you insisted on celebrating the religious aspects of this holiday off of which your country and corporations make so much money. Your fingers are cramped with the constant twisting to make the Christmas lights that Westerners seem to buy every year. You've heard that some people buy new ones simply because the old ones are tangled; it is easier to buy new ones on sale than to untangle, so countless strings of lights fill landfills. You don't want to think about the lead that you are exposed to every day; your family needs the money you send to their poor province.

When I look at my Christmas tree, I remember everything that happened in past years. Every ornament has a memory attached to it. I have an ornament we bought on our honeymoon; I have old ornaments that I made myself.  Listening to songs from the old country, we talk about times past while we decorate the tree and drink the required eggnog (regular store-bought cut in half with milk and with nutmeg on top). I want my Christmas memories to be built on love, not the discrimination of workers far away.

Why am I focusing on Chinese-made Christmas lights? We have to start somewhere. Also, the manufacture of the Christmas lights is especially environmentally dangerous to the earth and the workers.  I haven't purchased Christmas (or Easter) decorations or other holiday-themed items made in China for the past six years. My breaking point was a commemorative John Paul II ornament made in China sold at the local J.C.Penny. I just couldn't take it anymore. I know that the United States has basically sold itself to China for its cheap goods and labor. I know that wood and even fish from Oregon and Washington are sent to China to be processed and then sent back to the U.S. to be sold. I also know that many other countries (yes, even the U.S.) is discriminatory  to its workers in the name of cheap goods (dollar store, anyone?).  But the combination of China and Christmas feels especially ominous this year. 

China is now an economic superpower, thanks in part to the West's love of cheap goods that they supply. We tolerate their strict communism on social issues because the Chinese government seems to have become capitalists on the grandest scale. Many might be envious of Chinese-style full-scale capitalism that is without the fetters of environmental regulations and workers' rights. We ignore their one-child policy and everything that that entails. A woman can be forced into an eight-month abortion because she already has a seven-year old child. We look the other way and wait for the Christmas lights to go on sale at Walmart or Target or our favorite store that is so much hipper than Walmart and Target. 

What can we do? The problem is huge; the horse is out of the barn, and China will always supply all our Christmas 'needs'. That might be true, but we should start somewhere. I am challenging all my family and friends and blog readers to start by not buying Christmas lights made in China! 


In later posts, I'll give some alternative ideas to made in China Christmas lights. In the meantime- please contemplate my challenge. Please vote in the poll to your right- I'm curious what you think. Thanks for reading this far- God bless you!