down to earth

I didn't think I'd be frightened by our economic crisis. Initially I saw it as a way of slowing everything down, putting the brakes on indiscriminate spending, and forcing many people to rethink the way they live their lives. Now it has gone beyond a simple lesson and is hitting hard. At the Centre I volunteer at, many more people are needing help and some of them are losing hope in the future. The crisis has a long way to go yet, some say life will be very difficult for at least another 18 months. My fear is that our governments have no idea how to handle what is happening and if they continue to throw money at the problem, the chance to grow through this, and eventually prosper, will be lost.

Simple living is the answer but politicians and those in power refuse to acknowledge that reducing what we spend on 'stuff' will help us and our planet. They are choosing to support 'the economy', and here in Australia, sections of our community - pensioners, carers, some people on a low income and families with children are being given one-off payments of over a thousand dollars ($1000 per child) and being encouraged to go out and spend it. It's a great pre-Christmas boost for those people but it's not a long term solution and it totally fails to address the problems associated with always having an economy reliant on non-stop spending, shoddy products and debt.

Simplifying our lives is not just a decision for tough times, although it makes the most sense then. I am not naive enough to believe that moving to a more simple way of life would be easy. I know it would be tough. But would it be tougher than what we are faced with now? Continuing to spend like drunken sailors is not sustainable, there must be a point at which the economy can't "grow" any more. Is climate change telling us we have reached that point?

I think our political agenda needs to change. If we had a Minister for Simplicity, she would be overseeing the development of factories to produce good quality, repairable, electrical appliances and cars that run on hydrogen; she would be encouraging us to attend the sewing or gardening classes in our neighbourhood; she would support the use of renewable energy, give rebates for solar panels and make water tanks compulsory on all homes.

Isn't that alternative an enticing idea. It would be wonderful if we had governments that really meant it when they said "it's time for change". Imagine if our factories reopened to produce sustainable, good quality products we all needed. Imagine if children grew up learning about vegetable gardening instead of sitting in front of an Xbox for hour upon hour. Imagine if credit cards were banned and we went back to thinking carefully about what we need, and then saving for it. The reduction in our landfill dumps alone would be astounding!

Don't worry, I don't believe that is going to happen, at least not in my lifetime. I am an optimist but I'm not stupid. I know handing out money is far more popular than being the instrument of change. I know band-aid measures are popular.

But in the meantime, we can all work towards further reductions in our lives. We can teach ourselves lost skills and be energised by producing some of our own food. We can slow down our spending and pay off debt. Big business hates that - it takes away their control of us. We can sew and knit, keep chooks; teach our children; talk to our neighbours; make do with what we have; be aware of our local natural environment and care for it; cook from scratch, and become healthier because of it; and live smaller instead of bigger.

And while you're doing that, show your friends and neighbours what you're doing; they might be interested. Talk to your children about your family's changes and show them ways they might change too. Explain what you're doing to your extended family and work mates. If we can help others find a way of living that will help them survive this financial crisis, that helps us all. Be open with what you're doing and show others the benefits of your changes. And if you get the chance to talk to your local politicians, tell them how you've changed, what you've done and what you've planned for your future, and then ask them when we will have our first Minister for Simplicity.

This is just a short post to give the orange coconut cake recipe. I'm really busy today and need to go to work early. We're in the midst of our Christmas preparations and there is so much to do! We also have a BBQ lunch with our Flexischool students so the hour I have for that I'll replace with going in an hour early.

I was interested to read Laurie from Amish Country's comment about her relatives coming to Australia in their winter. At the moment, I'm working with a Canadian man who comes to Australia every winter. While he's here, he does voluntary work and this year he is with us. It must be quite a change for him but he's fitting in well and is a pleasure to work with.

And so, the cake. Many of you know that I don't follow recipes, I use them as a starting guide. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit and now it's a flavour-packed moist orange cake that every one loves. It's the addition of the coconut cream that makes the difference. If you've only made cakes from a box before, this is a good recipe to add to your cook from scratch recipes. It's easy and, apart from pre-soaking the coconut, fairly quick.

Ingredients

¾ cup caster sugar
125 grams butter (¼ lb), room temp
3 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
3 eggs, room temp
1 cup coconut cream - you can buy this at Aldi, most supermarkets or any Asian store
1 ½ cups self-raising flour, sifted OR 1 ½ cups plain (all purpose) flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder added
1 ½ cups desiccated (shredded unsweetened) coconut
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Method

Place the coconut, the orange juice and the coconut cream in a bowl and let it sit for an hour.
Preheat oven to 160°C.
Place sugar, butter and orange rind in a large bowl, and beat until light and creamy, this will take about 4 or 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each one.
Fold flour and coconut mixture into the butter mix. When it's combined, place it in a round greased and lined cake pan.
Cook for 50 minutes or until , when tested with a skewer, it comes out clean.

When it's cold, sprinkle with icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) or you could make the same icing I made.

Pour the juice of a fresh orange into a small saucepan and put on the stove. Allow to come to the boil and let it simmer. Don't walk away because OJ has a lot of sugar and it will burn. Allow it to reduce to half its volume, then take it off the heat, add a teaspoon of butter and let it cool. When it's cool, add enough icing sugar to make a frosting the consistency you would like and pour it over the cake.

OR - this is much simpler: add the juice of an orange to 1 cup of icing sugar and pour that over the cake.

See you tomorrow!

There is a distinct feel to certain times of the year. July at my home is fluffy slippers weather - cold. In July, there is soup on the stove, woollen gloves in the car and I always feel that, given a little time and help, I could mother the entire earth and make everyone warm.

December is altogether different, it's hot and humid bare arms weather. The never-fail signs of December are afternoon thunderstorms rolling in, the clinking of ice cubes in frosty glasses of lemon cordial, the ceiling fan moving slowly on hot summer nights and when I hear kids playing in the street during the day, it's a sure sign school is finished for the year, summer holidays have started and Christmas is just around the corner.

Shane and Sarndra came over for lunch on Saturday. How good it was to see them! I made up some bread rolls, salad from the garden and added a plate of local cheese and some pastrami for the meat eaters. They brought some cold brewed ginger beer and lemon, lime and bitters with them, which went well with the food. Later we all had a slice of my orange coconut cake and coffee.

We caught up on all the news and had a look at photos of their newly acquired mother hen and baby chicks. I am so thankful to see Shane so happy and content with a girl he obviously adores, and she him. There is a lot to be said for these times around the kitchen table, reconnecting and further strengthening our family ties. They seem to go hand-in-hand with Christmas and hot December weather.

Yesterday it was just Hanno and I for morning tea. I started another pair of fingerless mittens, this time in pure Merino wool, for Sarndra. I sneakily had her try on the little red pair I made for size. ; - ) I remember my own mother trying to size something for me, saying she was making it for my sister. I have no doubt Sarndra knew what I was doing, but played by the rules and didn't say a word about it. She is a good fit for our family, there is no doubt about it.

The hot weather is great for the garden but the heavy rain does a fair bit of damage. These golden nugget pumpkins are surviving, but only just. Still, there are quite a few of them out there and soon we'll be able to pick them and store them in the kitchen for eating later in the year. We've had a few more strikes of fruit fly in the tomatoes but overall there seem to be fewer of them around. Of course, it will next summer before we know if these measures we've taken are working. I'm sure there are eggs in the soil, but hopefully, as each year passes, there will be fewer.

And in the background of our lives, the animals wander in and out. Hettie sleeps in the hay in the shed, but every morning, when she hears us having tea on the verandah, she runs over to be fed some cake. The chooks are happy to roam around the backyard, scratching and pecking, searching for bugs. Heather, our salmon Faverolles girl, is broody again and spends her days on the nest where she pushes herself deep into the straw hoping no one will see her. And Alice, our Airedale, is happy to follow Hanno around while he works in the yard, or sleep on her bed in the kitchen, away from the March flies of December.

Life's good.

Hello all. I have been MIA for a bit due to some projects I am working on. I hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for the holidays with their families. It is a wonderful time to spend with friends and family, remembering holidays past and preparing for the holiday to come. As always traditions play an important role in everyone's life and I hope that you remember that traditions are often simple pleasures and not work. Some choose to spend their time running around the malls, but I hope all of us choose a wiser way to prepare for the holidays, celebrating with family and friends. Don't forget that with the economies taking a hit and a hard downturn this year, there are many out there who need a little extra help at this time of year, especially. If you have time, turn to your children and have them help you clean out their drawers and closets and toy boxes; the things that no longer fit, or outgrown toys can be donated. Warm coats are especially needed in colder areas, especially now. If you do go shopping, pick up and extra small toy and take it to your church or your local charity or the local Marine Corps recruiting center (if you live in the US) as a donation for Toys For Tots. It has always been a tradition with my children for each to select a small toy or book, have them buy it with money from their chores and then take it to Toys for Tots or the Salvation Army. It is a tradition we continue to this day, even though my girls are all grown up. If you have the time, go through your pantries and take a few cans or non-perishable foods to your local soup kitchen or church. When you go to the grocery store, it takes very little to buy a few extra cans, an extra turkey or ham that is on sale, an extra bag of beans, really just about anything, for it will all be appreciated by those who are less fortunate than ourselves. This is the time of year to give, which is an important part of the season that often gets overlooked in the frantic search for gifts at the mall. Always remember the Reason for the Season!

I will be updating photos this week-end and also I would like everyone to put their thinking caps on and come up with ideas for our next swap, which will be announced after the New Year. Remember that we are always trying to practice old or new skills, if possible reusing or re-purposing materials, and having a bit of fun along the way. Those who did not send their swap buddies their parcels will not be allowed to sign up for our next swap. Tamara, please send me another e-mail as I accidentally deleted your address. I have something for you.

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.

There are many way you may express your simple life philosophy to the world. Our ways of living are diverse and singular but we also come together as a group - a group that is growing stronger by the week. It is only about twelve months since I first watched mainstream TV news covering climate change and dwindling oil supplies. Before that, you'd be hard pressed to know there was any kind of environmental calamity happening in our world, now people talk about it on the bus on their way to work. Now governments are setting up environmental departments and appointing ministers to oversee the transition into a world with less reliance on fossil fuels.

Change. It's a good thing.

Here at my home we have set ourselves up on a relatively small (one acre) piece of land that is boarded by an always running creek lined with remnant rain forest. We grow some of our own food, we spend less that we earn, we reuse and utilise all we can instead of buying new, we support and assist those who need it, we try to be good citizens in our community and decent role models for our children and we are mindful that except for legally, we don't own our land, we are merely it's caretakers for a tiny fraction of its history. Life's good.

We started off this life a few years ago, doing as many of you are doing now - taking one small step at a time. Over that initial period we had one or two projects going but as you know, one thing leads to another, one small step leads to many more and soon we were on the march. A brand new life. Who knew.

You will find as soon as you become involved in this way of living that everything is linked. It's like a string of amber beads, in that each small action is a nice and tidy piece of organic loveliness, just like amber. One piece on its own is divine, strung together, it's life changing.

It doesn't matter what you start with, if you stay focused on your change you'll end up in the same place we did - with a new attitude to living and a new life in which to further express your transformation. One of the wonderful things about writing a blog such as this is that it attracts so many people who share the common goal of mindful simplicity.

We all need each other, even though in the past few decades we've been encouraged to believe we don't. That will never change, because we all need the support of people living their lives in a similar way and trying to do their best and be the best they can be. And if we can't get that in our own real communities, and even when we can, we know it will be available here. I am really proud of the community feel that has developed in this blog. Without fail, every time I see someone share information or offer kind counsel to another reader in the comments, it makes me smile.

I wrote the other day that I didn't know why my blog is popular and that caused me to wonder why. I realised yesterday that it is the people who read here that make it. Sure, I write the content and that is why you come here, but if no one was commenting, if there was little involvement with the readers, it would not be the joy it is to write. As it is it's like a little meeting place where you see friends and people you're just getting to know and new comers who've come for the first time. I really like the husbands and partners reading too. I get emails from men who have been shown something here by their partner and felt the need to write. I'm not sure why few men comment here. That's a mystery for another day.

Thank you for being part of this community and for making those contributions in the comments box. As this week draws to a close and Christmas moves closer, I hope you find time to relax and appreciate whatever it is you're doing. Take care, everyone, and enjoy your weekend.

Heather, Margaret Olley, Mary and Anne Shirley out for an afternoon stroll.

Some neighbours arrive.

But what's this! A storm approaches.

Alice, get the chooks in!

Good girl!

Another job done.

It's only 3.30pm but it's getting darker.

And down it comes.

Another tropical thunderstorm.

Vegetables - celery, beans and capsicum picked just before I cooked them last night.

It was late October when I wrote about the Nourishing Traditions book and adding meat back to our diet so I thought you might like a follow-up on how that is working for us. We are six weeks into it and we've eaten meat four times - one beef casserole and three beef casseroles with marrow bone. It's not really the time of year to be enjoying these types of meals but we have both enjoyed them and feel fine. I chose this type of meat because it's slow cooked and in doing that the sinews in the meat dissolve and release the natural gelatine. I want to eat more gelatine as it helps my damaged knee.

Beef casserole with mashed potato.

Hanno visited a few local butchers to find one who sells local grass fed meat. We found one close by who is quite happy to include the bone in or out of the meat we buy. He told Hanno to phone early in the week to order the meat and he'll make sure he prepares what we need. It's good service, isn't it, but you tend to get that from traders who are passionate about supplying local products.

Our intention is not to follow the Nourishing Traditions book to the letter but to add the things that make sense to us while we continue to eat the food we produce ourselves, supplemented by what we buy.

Our main drink now is filtered water - luckily we have a filter on our kitchen tap so that didn't mean any extra expense. I keep a glass jug of filtered water in the fridge, so it's ready to quench our thirst day or night. We have two cups of tea a day (breakfast and morning tea) made on filtered water and Hanno sometimes has a cup of coffee later in the day. I have been squeezing oranges for juice, although the book advises not to have too much juice, I won't give this up as it's my favourite drink. I never drink store bought juice. It's usually full of preservatives and colourings, or pasturised (heated), which removes a lot of the vitamins and minerals.

Last night's dinner was curried prawns cooked in coconut milk, with vegetables and brown rice. It was very tasty, even if I do say so myself.

This is a very quick and simple meal. I added a small cup of rice to water, brought it to the boil and then turned down the heat. It simmered for one hour, brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. Just before that hour was up, I chopped the vegetables, you can use any combination of vegetables you like, mine were all green yesterday but I generally have an assortment of colours. I fried the vegetables in a little olive oil, added two tablespoons of yellow curry paste, some pure sea salt and pepper and when they were almost cooked, added green prawns.

Add about a cup of coconut milk and let the meal simmer for about 3 minutes. Don't overcook it as it will make the prawns rubbery. If you like a thicker sauce, add a tablespoon of cornflour (cornstarch) to a some water in a cup, mix it, then add to the prawns. Cook this for another minute. Delicious!

Yellow curry paste from Aldi, added for Gail.

We've stopped eating whole grains and now eat rye or wholemeal bread. Whole grains are difficult to digest unless they've been soaked overnight before cooking. When I use barley or oats now, I pre-soak them. You don't need to pre-soak rice, but when you eat rice, try to make it brown rice as it's much more nutritious than white rice. Oh, and while we still eat sprouted seeds, we've stopped eating alfalfa sprouts. Apparently they aren't good if you have an infammatory disease like arthritis or lupus.

So that's it! It's been a painless transition to a new way of eating. Many of the things we were already doing are recommended in the book so there haven't been any major upheavals, but we're both feeling good. And for Cathy, Alice is good too and she says "woof".

ADDITION: Sew Mama Sew is having a giveaway day, (some of them are not for international postage) so hurry over and check out all the blogs involved in this.

The question I am asked more than any other in emails is "how do I start living simply?' Unfortunately there is not a simple answer to that question, but I'll have a go at answering it.

I started living simply before I knew there was a name for it. I'd been a "greenie" most of my life and had periods back in the 70s and 80s when I grew vegetables, kept chooks and stockpiled but it never felt like a way forward or even a cohesive lifestyle then. Now I believe that money is the key to a simple life - not in the accumulation of wealth, but in paying off debt and being frugal. When you do that, many things come together and it feels right. Being frugal spills over in to many other areas and tends to modify the way you live.

I wrote this sentence in my book the other day and it's worth repeating here: " Whether you like it or not, if you want to live simply you must reduce your spending; it's part of the territory. You will get away with not growing your own food, you don't have to keep chickens or goats, make soap, bake bread, sew or knit, you can live in the city or the country, you can work or not, you can be young or older, but the one thing everyone has to do is to reduce their spending."

But if that seems too big a hurdle for you right now, and I'm not blaming anyone if that is that case - things are what they are and I judge no one, there are other things you can do first. A wonderful thing happens when you decide to change - one thing leads to another and things start to flow. For instance, if you decide your first step will be to cook healthier food from scratch, that will open up a lot of things for you. You'll look around for new recipes, you'll buy different food, you may shop at different places to get that food - like farmers' markets, the bulk food store and organic co-ops. You may decide to stockpile to cut down your costs and save time. If you decide to stockpile, that may trigger you to reorganise your kitchen, or garage, or wherever it is you decide to store your stockpile. That may show you it's time to declutter, and so it goes.

One thing leads to another.

And what if your first step is to use green cleaners in your home? You find recipes you want to try, buy the ingredients and start using your new cleansers. They work well! So you decide to add more of them, and you make your own soap too ... and then laundry detergent. Etcetera.

These strategies will probably be cheaper options than those you were using in the past so you'll notice you're spending less on your groceries and food each week. That may give you hope that there is a way to save and start paying off debt. Maybe, just maybe, you'll start thinking about the "B" word - budget.

What I'm saying is that taking small steps is the way to a brighter and simple future. Small steps are easier and less scary than grand gestures and if you make a mistake, it doesn't matter, you just fix it and move on. But the great thing about small steps is they lead to other things. They open up possibilities and show you that change is achievable. And if you follow the path those small steps open up for you, you'll turn a corner one day and know you're living simply.

Other small steps you might like to consider are: slowing down and taking time for yourself - even it's in little bits and pieces; growing some of your own food; baking from scratch - bread, rolls, sourdough, cakes, muffins etc.; reading your electricity or water meters; cleaning your teeth with salt or bicarb; shampooing your hair with bicarb; using a cotton shopping bag; making your own shopping bag; using cloth table napkins; keeping chickens; decluttering your home; making do with what you have; taking shorter showers; talking to your children about conservation - ask them what they know, they might surprise you; using a Diva cup, homemade pads or non disposable nappies/diapers; reusing; repairing; recycling; smiling, opening your windows (in warm weather); opening up your heart (all the time); talking to your neighbours; supporting local growers and traders; spending time with your family and friends; learning how to knit and sew; cutting back on what you spend at Christmas; growing herbs or fruit; and making a commitment to change and live the life you want instead of what is expected of you by your family, friends and neighbours.

One thing leads to another.

Once you've started along the road to simplicity you'll notice that every time you take one of these small steps, it changes you. Each small step will help you move further away from your old way of doing things and closer to your goal of living well.

So I guess the simple answer to the question is that it starts with one small step. It's that simple, but it's not easy - nothing important ever is. Where that first step takes you is up to you. All our paths will be different, but my hope for you is that you make interesting and significant discoveries about yourself and your world along the way and that when you land on your target, the landing will be a soft one.

We have declared war on fruit fly, that summer pest we get here in Queensland but from recent reports has moved south to Melbourne. Those of you who have been reading here for a long time will know that we had a problem with fruit fly in the peaches and nectarines last summer, well, they returned worse than ever. We tried exclusion bags and saved quite a bit of our last season fruit; this year we have four peaches - everything else went to the chooks. Late last week we started finding fruit fly larvae in the tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis and a few capsicums (peppers).

We (meaning Hanno) cut down both trees. Now we've decided to delay planting any more soft fruit plants - like tomatoes and cucumbers etc. until we are sure the fruit fly problem is under control. To do less would be an exercise in futility.

Our second line of defence is to pour boiling water around the areas the two trees were planted - fruit fly larvae develop in the ground. If the trees were still there with fruit on the ground, we would put the chooks in there to clean up the area, but the ground is clear and looks clean. Hopefully the boiling water will kill any unseen eggs or larvae. Next we'll establish bait stations using Eco-Naturalure Fruit Fly Bait. It's very expensive but if it works, it will be worth it. I will buy a small container when I go to work today.

The above photo is of last night's dinner. Everything, except the tuna (from Aldi) and the flour that made the bread that made the breadcrumbs, was produced in our backyard. That includes the eggs in the tuna loaf, the Dutch cream potatoes, leeks, corn and herbs. We will not allow fruit fly to stop us eating organic vegetables. Luckily there are quite a few things not affected by this terrible pest - everything on that plate is immune.

It will be a real pain buying tomatoes that don't taste like tomato and watery cucumbers but we'll have to do it until we win the war. When you plant a vegetable garden you have to be prepared for those times when things don't go as planned. Things are always changing in the garden, sometimes, like now, those changes happen faster than you want them to. But not doing anything is not an option, that would only make the problem worse by allowing the fruit fry to multiply in the ground until next season.

Generally I'm a calm and peace loving pacifist but this is war!

Over the weekend we reached another milestone here - 700,000 visitors! That is amazing. I'm not quite sure why my blog is popular but I'd like to thank you all for reading, and a special thank you to all those readers who have been here for a long time. Knowing you're all there, reading the comments and developing friendships with some of you has made this a sweet, warm and rewarding part of my days. I appreciate your comments and thoughts and I hope you all stick around for a while yet. I still have a lot to say. (That last bit will be no surprise to Hanno.) LOL

Strawberries picked in the backyard two days ago.

I have no idea what I'm going to write about today. Generally, I have a vague notion because I've taken some photos, but today, nothing.

I do hope all my American friends are enjoying Thanksgiving. As I write this it's 4.30 am here, 10.30am in San Francisco and 1.30pm in New York so I have visions of turkey and stuffing either being eaten or still in the oven. Whatever you're doing, whom ever you are with, I hope you have a lovely day.

It's been a very quiet week here. I rise at 4, write my blog, feed the animals, have breakfast, tidy up and then lock myself in the sewing room with the laptop to write most of the day. I look out to the garden, and often see Hanno working out there, but I remain seated, clicking away on the keys, sorting through notes and, sometimes, fighting the inclination to go outside. I have found over the years that writing is a brain function you have to work up to. When I first started, it was very difficult to concentrate, I would think about what I'd just finished or what I was going to do later. Now that I have built a routine around it, it's easier to sit and stay focused, but I still have to fight the urge to leave when I see Hanno outside working in the cool shade, checking pumpkins, pouring water on plants or talking to Alice.

We live a charmed life. Gone are the days of regular routines, having to do laundry every day, working for others, and being ruled by a clock. Our days here are often a duplicate of the day before but each day seems fresh and new. The familiarity of it all allows us to glide through our days with ease, tweaking this, mending that, planting, harvesting, planning and living well. Each day we piece together another part of our life's patchwork - a gentle jumble of doing what we have to do and doing what we want to do.

I didn't know this kind of contentment was freely available to those who persevered with the ups and downs of ordinary life. When I was younger and my family, my job and my housework drained all strength from me, I didn't know there was a reward waiting. But here I am, living the reward, and I am here to remind you of it too. There are seasons in our lives that we all must go through to reach the next stage. Some seasons, especially those in young married life when a mortgage is being paid and children are being raised, are so intense they sometimes blur the rewards of the work. But when you come out the other end and your children set out on their own lives, you set out on yours again too. Oh, it's sad to see them go, but you soon realise it's just another stage and new activities and tasks will soon consume you, while you build your life around the newness of it all.

So on this day of thanksgiving, no matter at what stage of life you're at, I hope you understand that if you're going through hard times or good times, they are the extremes of life. Most of it is just plain old life, nothing fancy, it's just breathing in and breathing out, and if you're smart, you'll see the worth of ordinary life and make every day count.

Cleaning mould from walls and fabrics

With all this rain around we've developed a mould problem in our home. Usually we have the front and back doors open and that good ventilation stops most moulds from establishing. However, with the house locked up for the past week, the high humidity and the rain, mould is now growing on the wooden walls near our front door and on the lower parts of cupboards in the kitchen. Most of us will find mould growing in our homes at some point. Either in the bathroom or, in humid climates, on the walls, like we have now. You'll need a safe and effective remedy at some point, so I hope one of these methods works well for you. Mould is not only ugly to look at, it can cause health problems so if you see mould growing, do something about it straight away. The longer you leave the problem, the harder it will be to get rid of it effectively. If you have asthma or any allergies, you should do this type of cleaning with a face mask on so you don't breathe in any spores. Many peopl...

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