hannah ransom

Hi Peter!

I don't recommend herbs because there are no efficacy studies done on them and most are also messing with your body in one way or another in order to actually make you not conceive. Certainly they seem to be much better than synthetic hormones, but why mess with your body if you don't have to?

As a few people touched on, the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness is a really great and effective way to manage fertility - well worth the time to learn. Basically, it's all about finding when you are actually fertile (or your partner is ) and during that tim either abstaining, using alternate sex, or using a barrier method. It's NOT the same thing as the rhythm method because it's based on what's happening in your current cycle with your hormones and not how your cycles have behaved in the past. That's why it's 99.6% effective (as long as you learn it well and use it correctly).

I teach the method and have used it myself for well over 4 years. You can learn more at my website: http://holistichormonalhealth.com

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

I am right off of WIlshire in between Fairfax and La Brea... Miracle Mile neighborhood.

Yeah, the browns are definitely tricky for me. I also try to make as little waste as possible so I don't get paper, I take myself off all junk mail lists, I buy things in bulk, etc.

Julia Winter wrote:How about black soldier fly larvae? Then you'll have to find someone with a lizard, or chickens, or big fish, to eat the pupae. Of course, if you could find somebody with chickens your problems would be solved! I guess you could just liberate the pupae. . .

Looking into Bokashi is also a good idea.

I wish! That was what degraded all of my stuff when I used to compost outside. I am on the 4th floor and my windows are all screened up, so I'm thinking the chances of them just getting in here aren't very good, though?

The problem is never getting to the castings part. I'm POSITIVE I could find someone on craigslist to come pick up castings. It's a way to deal with my refuse that I am worried about. Worms don't seem to be enough for the amount of scrap I produce. It's not that I throw a bunch of good food away, I just eat a lot of produce and have well over a gallon (blended!!) weekly.

Well, I don't think the worm thing is going to work.

I've had the worms for a week and they are still working on 3-4 days worth of compost that I gave them initially I was able to blend it all into a really thick "smoothie" for the worms and it was probably a 1/2 gallon from those few days.

I have tons of veggie and fruit scraps on "back-up" in my fridge waiting to be turned into compost. Maybe 3 gallons of valume? We have probably been eating less produce than normal for us, too.

I'm trying to find community gardens around here (doesn't look like there are any close enough to actually take the scraps there via bike). I took a bucket full to the farmer's market before I got the worms, but they were super hesitant to take my scraps and didn't want me to keep bringing them scraps (more for them to carry home).

I have two book recommendations! One is Susan Weed's "The New Menopausal Years" and the other is Christiane Northrup's "The Wisdom of Menopause"

Susan Weeds focuses on helping you deal with certain symptoms of pre/peri-menopause. She goes through her 6 steps of healing... Starting with the benign stuff and even covering the very conventional things you can do.

Christiane Northrup's I actually haven't read yet BUT I have read her other books and she focuses a lot on the emotional aspects of health and I'm sure it's amazing, as is her other stuff.

Please let me know if you end up reading either and if you get anything out of them.

I have read it! And posted in it!

I don't know if you went to my site, but I teach a natural birth control method, so I post about this stuff all of the time. I just thought that this particular article might appeal to some permies so I wanted to share

For me the best has been to use a base of coconut oil and then some baking soda.

I wrote an article on herbal birth control. I'd love to know what you all think. Feel free to leave a comment over there. Let me know if you have personal experience!

http://holistichormonalhealth.com/is-herbal-birth-control-safe/

That's one of the problems, he already hates me.

We had a bit of a brouhaha when I was signing the lease and I told him it was illegal to take a non-refundable deposit.

I'm actually a nutter about all trash (don't even own a trash can). I have a cutting board with my scraps sitting on it right now.. Just waiting. I am picking my husband up in San Diego tomorrow (I got out place in LA and he is working down there) and I am going to try to get a couple of buckets for a worm bin from my parents. I am afraid of killing off all of the worms with too much compost.

Also, for worm bins, what options do I have for extra carbon material? As I said, I'm a nut about trash and don't have extra newspapers or anything like that. I am assuming treated sawdust would be bad (because I would think I could get that free somewhere)? In fact, why isn't newspaper too toxic for the worms? Kind of weird.