GladRags Gab

Amy over at Crunchy Domestic Goddess recently answered some interview questions on her blog sent to her by another blogger.  She asked if anyone else would like to be interviewed and I said, "Yes!"  So, here are her questions.  And, my answers.  Enjoy!

Oh, and if any of you, my fellow bloggers, are interested in my sending you your own individualized set of interview questions for your blog, drop me a line.

1) Would you mind telling me (and any other newbies) a bit about yourself and your background?

Sure thing!  Well, first off, my name is Diana.  Hello.  I began this life in the state of Massachusetts, dreaming of leaving home to travel and do my own "thing".  I did and now I am very happy.  After Spanish speaking in Latin America, attempted Japanese in Kyoto and various other jaunts around this fascinating planet, I moved west.  I currently reside in the extremely livable and generally happy Portland, Oregon.

Various other tidbits - I am the youngest of 7 children (can we say Irish Catholic?!).  I like exploring a variety of cultures (including, for example, woodworkers) and finding out what makes them tick - more or less.  I started eating vegan some months ago and enjoy delving into whole foods cooking and reaping its delicious benefits.  I like my friends, but who doesn't?  Children are amazing.  I don't think it's ok for a person to say that they don't like people.  I really enjoy my alone time.  Oh, and tennis and snowboarding and walking and laughing.

2) How did you first get involved with GladRags? 

I have to say that I was primed for the 'Rags before I started working here.  It all began in Costa Rica.  I was at a birthday party and my friend whipped out this interesting little device - looked like a shot glass.  So, we used it as a shot glass.  We were doing what we knew.  Anyway, turned out to be her new (a.k.a. unused) menstrual cup.  The seed was planted and I bought myself a cup and a cloth menstrual pad.

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I'll be making Walnut-Cheddar Harvest Loaf, vegetarian gravy, brussel sprouts, and cabbage salad to take to Thanksgiving this year.  The Harvest Loaf is from the really old cookbook, Diet for a Small Planet . My copy was used when I bought it and now it is totally ratty because of all the use I've given it. The loaf makes a great entree for those of us not indulging in the big bird.  When I've got time and want to impress friends I wrap it in phyllo and it's quite a presentation. 

While I'm cooking I'll be thinking about all the things I'm thankful for this year.  My healthy family, my wonderful friends, the chance to have had three art exhibits this year, and all the wonderful women I know though working at GladRags - customers, co-workers, store buyers, brokers, suppliers, competitiors/compatriots.

Best wishes to everyone for a safe, happy holiday.

-Brenda 

 Walnut-Cheddar Loaf

45 min 15 min prep
2     tablespoons olive oil
2     cups yellow onions, chopped
1     cup black walnuts, coarsely ground
1     cup cheddar cheese, grated
2     tablespoons lemon juice
2     eggs, beaten
2     tablespoons nutritional yeast
1     teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice (1/2 cup uncooked)
    salt
    pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350.
   2. Saute onions in olive oil until translucent.
   3. Mix with remaining ingredients, salt and pepper to taste and put in an oiled loaf pan.
   4. Bake for 30 minutes.

To bleed or not to bleed,-that seems to be the question:-
Whether ‘tis nobler to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous moods, cramps, and PMS,
Or to take arms against our bodies with a sea of drugs,
And by opposing ourselves, end it?-To stop,-to cease,-
No more; and by a pill to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural fluxuations
That flesh is heir to,-‘tis culturally
Devoutly to be wish'd. To stop,-to cease;-
To sleep! Perchance to dream:-ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of nothingness what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal cycle,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes worth living of so long life.

This famous speech from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" was frighteningly easy to adapt to menstruation. I was inspired by Jodi's "No More Menstruation" blog that talks about the new oral contraceptive that is taken continually, with no break for bleeding. The "To be or not to be" speech jumped right into my head, and the parallel with "To bleed or not to bleed" was too perfect. I looked up the actual speech in an old copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare that I happen to have lying around. You can just as easily google it, though I like the way the older version has all the dashes. Anyway, you can see for yourself how little had to be changed. I'm kind of stunned actually how beautifully the point is made…

Michelle
 
Michelle Singer is a freelance journalist currently living and working in Montpelier, Vermont. Former GladRags employee and menstrual enthusiast, she is also a great lover of books, hiking, and wrestling with the continual confusion of feminism. She lives in a multi-generational home with all her most important fans–her parents, husband and two truly adorable children.

My sister always comes to me with science questions, as I was a scientist in a previous life.  At the beginning of her pregnancy, she asked me about chord blood banking, what I knew, what I had heard.  At the time, I didnt know much, so I looked it up.  The idea is that you can cryogenically freeze umbilical cord blood for potential use in the future if your child need something like bone marrow to cure a disease.  I stress potential, because nobody actually knows if this works yet.

Enter C'elle .

Cryto-Cell has introduced a product/service called C'elle.  The product freezes down menstrual blood and endomentrial tissue.  They claim that these cells have the same characteristics as stem cell and that they should be saved for future use for the client.  Personalized medicine, I believe it is often called.  So for only $500 dollars and then an annual fee of $99 you too can protect yourself against future maladies.  I am not so sure I am buying into this one…

Tonight while my husband and I were cooking dinner we got on the subject of a recent opinion piece in our local paper,The Oregonian, in which our local right wing Bush sycophant columnist, David Reinhard,  was discussing whether or not waterboarding was torture. We both got so upset talking about it we had to calm ourselves down with some deep breaths and a beer. Fortunately the music we were playing was Michael Franti's most recent album "Yellfire". Bruce said, thank goodness for Michael Franti and we went back to making potato-leek soup knowing we aren't alone in this world of craziness we now live in.  

If anything ever happens to Bruce (perish the thought), I am going to hunt down Michael Franti and make him my own! If you don't know his music, find it, listen to it. He is a radical voice for truth and accountability and you can dance like crazy too. His song "To the East, to the West" could solve most of the world's problems. I looooovvvve him! 

 -Brenda

As announced in last Friday's newsletter, Jennifer Purcell, a Portland-based naturopathic physician and herbalist, will be posting monthly entries on GladRags Gab discussing a variety of women's health issues.  Dr. Purcell's first topic is PMS.  Get ready for some great thoughts on this prolific 'syndrome'.  ~Diana

PMS - a word so common to women these days as 85% of us experience at least one symptom per month.  The average onset is 26 years of age and the symptoms are wide and varied.  So much so that they are now classified by an increasing number of subtypes based on predominating symptom.  But whether it is breast tenderness, bloating/distension, cramping spasms, migraines (and on a on) - it all leads to one thing - Imbalance.

This is where is gets tricky - finding where the balance lies.

Often the first place we investigate is the reproductive system itself.  But if you are ovulating and bleeding monthly the problem may be elsewhere.  A good place to look is the liver.  The liver's job is multifactorial and it is one of the most important organs of the human body.  In relation to PMS, it is a contributor in the production of hormones.  The short version of the story - if your liver is strained or overworking, your hormonal balance could be disturbed.

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What about that 'ick' factor of reusables, huh?  We all know that they are far from icky and closer to FANTASTIC but do you remember a time when you didn't think so fondly of your GladRags?  Here's what Elise remembers.  ~Diana

Hard to say what changed my mind about the "ick".  It wasn't one thing and somewhat coincided with starting a compost pile, recycling, eating more whole natural foods, organic gardening, and being a Mom…all things that have to do with preserving the environment for the future, and being less self-conscious but more conscious of the world around me.  I still have my original Keeper (and so does one of my sisters who I got started on GladRags too).  I can't go back, of course.  The Keeper is so great for everything from hiking and camping to business trips.  I don't need a box of supplies, but just some negligible space in a purse or carry-on.  Thanks for great products that last and last.  Certainly money well spent.  Hopefully, I can continue the trend–my young daughter recently asked what that isle in the supermarket was for, and I told her many women use disposables they buy each month instead of the things I have…she wrinkled her nose…"oh, they just throw them away?" (maybe that will be the new ick factor some day)

- Elise 

Remember last Monday when I let y'all know about The Virtuous Consumer by Leslie Garrett?  Well, Garrett featured GladRags and the menstrual cups in her book, as well as a quote from me (Diana) in that book.  And Garrett, in her multi-media-ness, also hosts a radio show on CHRW in London, Ontario.  Boldly bringing menstruation and menstrual alternatives into the media, Garrett invited me (Diana, again) onto her show to orient listeners to the world of reusables.

It's about time the dialog got ON AIR!  Take a listen here. And be patient - there's some music before the menstruation talk and commercials. 

Then it's all about that great period talk!

~ Diana

I have always thought of myself a pretty eco-conscious person, but when I started working at GladRags, I realized that I hardly do anything GREEN aside from taking 5 minutes showers, turning the heat off at night, opening windows and doors in the summer instead of using an air conditioner, letting the rain fall wash my car, eating local and when I can afford it, organic. I got to thinking, and researching other ways I could live a more green, eco-friendly life… and this is what I came up with:

Change out your BULBS!

By switching your standard bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, you will be using less wattage, therefore saving money as well! These bulbs last about 2-8 years, are fairly cheap at most local building centers, and just switching out 5 of your household bulbs is like taking 1,000 cars of the road!  

Don't Eat Fast Food!

I know it's so easy, but most fast food chains use way too much packaging, do not use local meats, fish, fowl, or veggies, therefore not helping local farmers. Eat Local, Buy Local!

Drive Less!

I have made the commitment of walking or biking to work now that I live closer. Gas prices are out of control, and the emissions of our little fun toys are the single biggest cause of pollution. Get out of your car and bike, ride public transport, skateboard, roller-skate, run, or walk!

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Take a few minutes to read E.McKibbon's beautiful words.  She tells us of the various transformations she has undergone in how she thinks about her body, menstruation and nature.  There are some great insights here - grab a cup of coffee. ~Diana 

I'm writing to say that I love your products. But I also appreciate that you give people the opportunity to talk about the wrongly- tabooed subject of menstruation, for long ago, it was something to be respected and honored.

I use your Sea Pearls tampons and your GladRags. I have never been a woman who thought periods were disgusting or a hindrance to my life-quite the opposite actually. When I was in my early teens, I looked forward to starting my period, and when it came at 14, my mother took me to our local gourmet market. She bought me a special sandwich, a piece of chocolate cake, a bouquet of flowers, and my first box of pads. I felt so special and womanly.

A few years later, I went on the pill. My period lightened significantly and only became a symbol of not being pregnant. I didn't think too much more of it than that. However, as I got into my early twenties, I became much more aware of nature. I surfed, I hiked, I lay on the beach and listened to Mama Ocean's waves, and I began to have an intuition that being on the pill was not for me.

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