Eat More! The Best 2025 Resolution

What is it about the first day of January that makes us want to do better? New beginnings offer hope and an opportunity to redeem ourselves. And redemption we need because we abuse our bodies all year. 

Moderation and balance is not easy. We find it difficult to nuture and care for ourselves. Eating properly has become a chore instead of a joy and privilege.

I think for far too long we have been convinced that convenience is more important than health. Marketing inculcates us to the message that more is better. Plus, extra and bonus portions make us feel like we are getting something for nothing. And then the food itself is pumped full of all kinds of salt and sugar disguised to create addictions so we buy and eat more.

We are influenced to want fast and easy food. We have forgotten the joy of cooking. Restaurants serve us gigantic plates and the landfills fill up with methane producing food waste. We go to Costco and buy bulk to save time and money, but what we are really doing is wasting time in lineups and so much of what we buy just goes bad and gets thrown out.

And don't get me started on packaging...!!!

The U.S. Government subsidizes corn producers which creates a glut of corn, which sadly finds its way into practically everything as corn syrup, adding more calories and sugar to everything we eat, and obesity is the result.

People have forgotten what real food tastes like.

This New Year don’t resolve to eat less. Resolve to eat more. MORE REAL FOOD. Natural, whole foods that are not in a box or can or bag. And if you can, grow a garden and resolve to rediscover the joy of a tomato picked ripe, or a warm peach off the tree. 

Lastly, resolve to find your way back into the kitchen.

We are what we eat. 

I feel blessed to live in an area where I can grow all my own food and I benefit from the fruits (pun intended) of my garden labours in so many ways: from healthy, organic and tasty FREE food, to a body kept in shape by all the bending and stretching. I sometimes curse hard work in the garden, but I know deep down my garden is saving me. I am being grounded daily – and my mood is enhanced by the sound of the birds and the feel of a warm egg taken out of the coop.

I encourage you this year to resolve to discover real food. I promise, you will save yourself, and together we could save the planet.

 

Drones, Orbs, and Things that Matter

What the heck is going on in the sky?

I am sure you are aware of the increasing numbers of large drones, the size of cars, in the skies over New Jerey. And even more prolific than the drone sightings are the theories as to what they are and why they are there. Well, figuring this out is right up my ally, as I love research, and even more, I love a little excitement, but I must tell you, this drone situation is not all that is going on...

The drones are flying in a grid pattern over military installations and other high value targets, and according to many analysts, and I agree, would suggest they are either friendly drones looking for something or unfriendly drones looking for something. Trust me when I say, if they were unfriendly they would have been shot out of the sky a long time ago! So yes, the government is telling the truth - they are not a risk to the public.

The military has large drones with the capability of looking for things in the dark (through infrared technology) as well as detecting “smells” like gas leaks, and of course drones that can kill. There are also drones that look for radiation. If you filter through all the millions of commercial drones delivering groceries, the utility company drones just doing their jobs, and the personal drones doing nothing but getting in the way, I believe these are government drones, either sniffing for something or investigating something.

So the government is not lying to the people when they say that the drones are not a threat. However, what the government is likely not telling the people is that there IS a threat: the thing they are looking for! Rumour has it there is a missing nuclear bomb that has been smuggled out of Europe and into an eastern seaboard port. Missing bombs is not a rumour, it is a fact, easily verified. The rumour is that one of them has made it stateside.

As a senior strategic communications specialist, I worked for the Canadian military and have been involved in the training of senior military officers by “war gaming” how to handle a dirty bomb in the port of Montreal. We war gamed this because the possibility is very real, and it is a nightmare scenario the US and Canadian (and other) governments have been planning to manage for a very long time. They have planned for it, and practiced it because they know how insecure the ports are and that is is just a mstter of time before a dirty bomb gets through.

If (and this is a big IF) there were a nuclear bomb hidden somewhere in the most populous state in America, and IF I were the communications advisor, I would certainly advise the powers to be to NOT tell the public. Why? Because a) it would create such panic that  the entire NE would shut down. This would not only create chaos, but it would also crash markets word wide and open the door to American enemies to take further advantage. The logistical nightmare of people trying to flee the area in panic would be a disaster, and b) the government needs time to find and disarm this thing if it exists, and to inform all levels of government and first responders as to what the plan is if the bomb detonates.

Having said that, do I think there is a bomb hidden there? Not sure, but I don't think so. But if there was even the slightest possibility, the government must act by bringing out the drones, so they can either find it and neutralize it or rule out that it exists. 

In the meantime, there are the orbs….WTF are the orbs that have been seen on BOTH coasts initially, and now, around the world?

Some say the orbs are cloaked drones, others are mystifying them into ancient symbols. One video shows a lady talking to the orb about Jesus. Most of that is crap. But I am telling you, there ARE orbs out there! Orange/red orbs that are being seen, not just by people on the ground, but by many commercial and military pilots. Recently in Oregon, just west of Eugene, 4 pilots and the control tower spent 13 minutes discussing the orbs, describing them (there was more than one), and trying to get video of it (the audio recording is now available online and has been verified as legit). The orb is described as red and corkscrew like, travelling at supersonic speeds between 1000 and 50,000 feet – moving up and down, back and forth between the ocen and inland, unlike any known aircraft can. 

On the east coast there are two scientists with some amazing equipment that have been recording orbs there – and I gotta tell you, I find this all freakier and scarier than the drones looking for a bomb. Perhaps the government drones are investigsting the orbs becsuse they have been literally thousands of sightingd in the last month - and not just in the U.S. These orbs are being seen around the world. Is it time that we must aadmit we are not alone in this universe? 

When I watched some of the videos that are circulating online (after weeding through the fake ones), I had the same feeling as when I watched the hazmat suited guys in China spraying the streets at the beginning of Covid. You know, that feeling of, Oh my God, is this really happening?

The legitimate orb sightings have been discussed in Congress and in Senate hearings, which are now public. This is way beyond conspiracy theories now. Unfortunately, all of the legitimate sightings have given way to thousands of misleading and false sightings, mostly stars being distorted by bad cameras, and Starlink satelites. (This probably makes the government happy, as it allows them to brush off all of this as mass hysteria and again, it buys them time to figure out what the heck these things are).

One particularily eery video, which has not been verified yet, is a young American military man, with tears running down his cheek, telling the world tht they are UFOs, that they are not friendly, and that we will all be told what is going on in the New Year. Most chilling were his ords, when "we will need to evacuate." Not sure how we evcuate the earth??

At the end of the day, I believe it is quite possible we are at the beginning of a new era. Something good? Something bad? I don’t know. But my instinct is to take stock of what really matters.

For me, that is living an authentic life in pursuit of fulfillment – something that is different for everyone. Fulfillment for me it is about living my dharma – that is, to spend quality time with those I love, limit my footprint on this planet, inspire people to grow their own food and medicine (something that suddenly seems more apropos than it did two years ago when I started Global Village Permaculture), and to spend my resources on experiences rather than on things.

Might I encourage you all in this coming New Year, and possibly New Era, to simplify your lives, value your relationships, and be kind to the earth. 

Who knows, maybe the orbs are here to help us do that - cause God knows, the drones are proof we need all the help we can get!

AirBnB: Then, Now, and the Hidden Gems

My Bnb, Global Village, was the second property in the South Okanagan to be listed on Airbnb. Back then, 2014, the concept was simple: you have a spare bedroom, nothing fancy, you listed it for cheap on Airbnb. People stayed with you and got to experience local hospitality and save money, and you got to make a little money off a room you only used to store old clothes and your mother's hand-me-down Hummels. Easy peasy. It was a great concept.

Over time, the concept morphed from simple cheap accommodations to fancy, expensive, self-contained spaces that were decorated in the latest styles and provided all kinds of luxuries. I admit, I adapted, and my space morphed too…from a $80 a night basement bedroom with an old (positively ugly) bathroom across the hall, to a $238/night premium room with it’s own entrance and gourmet two course breakfast.

There is nothing wrong with that, but long gone are the days of affordable accommodation. Airbnb has raised its fees tremendously – the guest now pays my fee, plus a huge Airbnb fee, plus taxes! For the most part, it is now cheaper to stay in a hotel/motel than most Airbnbs. People have gotten so used to that type of accommodation, they have forgotten the benefits of sharing in good old fashioned hospitality in someone else's home.

Affordable places still exist, and if you take your time looking, you can find hidden gems – like where I have been staying in Napa. Accommodations, for the most part, are incredibly expensive here. But I booked a room in John’s house - in the old historic part of Napa. It was listed at $128 CAD/night. 

John is in his sixties – and the "business" is managed by his son. The home is a lovely, renovated old house in downtown Napa. I am in one of two upstairs guest bedrooms. I have access to the whole house, including a large kitchen fully stocked with everything one might need to cook a meal, and John provides breakfast foods (help yourself) and coffee. My bedroom is small, has a lock and a nice bathroom, is newly renovated, tastefully decorated, and has an amazing electric lift mattress and quality linens. Best sleep I have had in a long time!

John and his son were here to greet me when I arrived, but for the most part I have had the house to myself. The first night I was invited to join John and his wife? sister? neighbour? in Thanksgiving leftovers (I declined), and today while enjoying my supper, I was offered a wonderfully refreshing homemade Agave cooler. John and I chatted for awhile about travel and wine, and then he was off again, and once more I had the house to myself.

As a single traveller, staying in someone’s home gives me an opportunity to visit with people (if I feel like it), and I get the security and safety I don’t necessarily feel when staying in a motel. What I paid for this gem of a place was only $20 more a night than the cheap Motel 6 I parked myself in earlier this week – and that night I barely slept a wink between the highway traffic, the bad mattress, and the feeling that my car full of all my belongings may not be there in the morning.

Some people might think it is weird to stay in someone’s home – but the truth is, that is the best part of the experience. People who open their homes like this are generally my kind of people – open, trusting folks who want to meet people from around the world, share their hospitality, and show off their lovely region. I know that is why I do it – so I have never hesitated to look for the same sort of accommodations. 

Airbnb hosts like John, who do a consistently good job and get nothing but good reviews, are awarded the Super Host and Guest Favorite designations – so when looking for the gems, I limit my searches to those properties. In fact, as a Super Host/Guest Favorite myself, I am actually staying here at John's for free because Airbnb awards super hosts with credits to use while travelling. 

For sure there are times when I want my own space, and I will then book an entire place to myself, but for the most part, the best experiences I have had travelling have been staying in a room in someone’s home. So if you have never done that, and especially if you are a solo traveller, I encourage you to try it. Look for Super Hosts with the Guest Favorite designation and you can’t go wrong. I guarantee you will get a better sleep than in a noisy hotel, you’ll enjoy much better quality beds and linens, and best of all, you might make some new friends.