.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello!

Have you heard of Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea)? I have done some research on what I can use to thicken sauces without necessarily using flour all the time. Whenever I eat flour (especially in bread) I feel so bloated and I am hungry after a short while again. So I try to replace flour wherever I can. You can use it instead of cornstarch (which is just way to processed) too. It can also be used for jellies, puddings etc. The suggested use for Arrowroot is for cosmetics and food and it comes in the form of a white powder. You can see the original root depicted above. Why the name Arrowroot? I had to look this up myself. It is called Arrowroot because it was once used to treat those people who were injured from poisoned arrows.

Besides cooking, Arrowroot can be used for body powders, as deodorant, dry shampoos and many more cosmetic products that you can make yourself. I will share two products that I make and use here.

To start: What kind of deodorant do you use? I hope you heard of the dangerous ingredients that are in most common deodorants that you can purchase in any drugstore. To name a few: Parabens, Aluminum compounds (which should  make you sweat less or not at all. However, you are supposed to sweat and Aluminum can promote the growth of breast cancer cells!),  Silica, Talc, Triclosan, Propylene Glycol, Steareth-n, Fragrances that cause allergies, skin irritations etc. Look at the “inactive” ingredients for “Solid Secret Deodorant”. Most of these ingredients you cannot even pronounce.

I will most likely write an article just on these harmful deodorants and ingredients alone because I have done so much research and there is a lot to share if you are interested.  Here is a great link for you to watch. It is in German only and I have not found too much information about how bad most of the deodorants are here in the U.S. If you have any questions, also regarding this video, let me know!

So of course, I don’t use any of those deodorants. I also stay away from so-called ‘organic’ ones because there is still so much garbage in them.  I make my own. Here is my recipe:

You will need 3 ingredients and nothing else:

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Baking Soda (I use Arms& Hammer)

1/4 cup Arrowroot powder

Mix it all together and put into little glass container. Done! To mix it up easier, melt the coconut oil.

Now simply apply a small amount under your armpits. Wait a bit and then put your clothing on.

The second beauty product I would like to share is “Dry Shampoo”. I have tried so many and they are all loaded with chemicals and made my head itch like crazy. Have you heard of the company LUSH? They actually make a dry shampoo that is pretty decent and that I would recommend as well. The link is here. This one does not work too well with dark hair; however, for blond hair it is perfect! I prefer making my own dry shampoo. Dry shampoos are great if you want don’t want to wash your hair that often. I wash my hair once a week and it is healthier than ever. When my hair starts getting a little oily by day 4-5, I apply some of my dry shampoo and it helps absorb the oil and the hair looks great again. The most important thing is that you don’t want to strip your hair of its natural oils. I will let you know right away that it is not an easy transition if you have used regular shampoos ore conditioners for a long time. I recommend that you switch to organic shampoos before you start dry shampoos.

My hair is dark and very long by now (not washing your hair that often lets it grow faster, too!) So I was in search for the perfect homemade dry shampoo for dark hair for the longest time. I also don’t like beauty products with too much smell. I like neutral smells the most! I love that I can have whatever scent I want – simply by adding essential oils. No chemicals, my friends!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

2 Tbsp raw cacao powder

2 Tbsp baking soda

2 Tbsp Arrowroot powder

Optional: 5 drops of essential oil, I love Lavender or anything citrus

For light hair: Same ingredients minus Cacao powder! Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Now add the essential oils. I would wait a bit and let it all sit for 2o minutes if you add essential oil.  Now fill your dry shampoo into a clean glass container. To apply, take a fluffy make-up brush and tap down your main part-line and then take your fingers and massage the powder into your hair roots. Go on to different hair sections wherever you hair is greasy. If you are new to dry shampoo, add small parts of the powder to your hair to experiment a bit. 🙂 Once you are done, take a comb and brush your hair out evenly to remove excess powder. Done! Late for work and no time to wash your hair? Keep a little container of dry shampoo at hand! Your dry shampoo will keep for months if you keep it in a sealed glass container.

Thank you for reading my blog. 

“We leave the mission compound and drive across a packed mud square strewn with schoolchildren in blue uniforms. The walls of the cathedral, which looks as though it was transported whole from Belgium, are decorated with graceful cars of bullet holes and the roof sports car-sized holes. Ten masses a week are still held here, despite the fact that tiles from the roof fall on the congregation during services.” 

Hello!

So I am listing to Radio Congo while typing this article. Listen to it here. If you followed my blog for a while, you know that I will be traveling to Congo soon with my son to spend time with my husband who works there for the United Nations. Of course I am preparing myself mentally for this trip by reading whatever I can get my hands on. Especially about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kinshasa and what is going on there. This is how I discovered Ben Rawlence. He is awesome. I read his latest book “City of Thorns” and just got hooked. He describes how he lived and worked in Africa; also a lot what he has experienced. He also gives great insight on how the United Nations helps and operates in this country. “Radio Congo” is a great book if you get yourself prepared to travel to Congo. The author wrote mostly about Manono and Goma which is east of Congo and close to Rwanda. I will be in Kinshasa which is west. I attached a map so you know what I am talking about. Believe me, I had to look this up too.

I am a huge fan of travel writing. Rawlence travels the country by motorbike, canoe and mostly by foot and meets so many people who he then introduces and writes about in his book. Many are full of faith and hope that this war will end. I thought it was great how he met Colonel Ibrahim but I won’t give away any spoilers. The author knows his way with words and his collection of adventures in Congo are eye-opening.  The story ties nicely together, is interesting and makes you turn page after page in search for more. He met Jean-Baptiste who told him that “Radio Congo is the spider’s web that is holding this country together.” I believe it does, too.

Rawlence’s job is at Human Rights Watch and you get great information on what he needs to get done. You will learn about rebel groups in Uganda and Rwanda and many more major problems this country has. He describes real people and their daily lives and kindness which is somehow a recurring topic in Rawlence’s book. You discover insight on community centers, the local health service (scary!) and so many places he traveled where people have never seen a TV, car, or newspaper. When you decide to read the book, be prepared to read about serious expat views. Rawlence has seen it all! You will learn about curiosity and courage. You probably asked yourself how it is possible to live in a country where war is present on a daily basis for a long time. How do people do it? What do they eat? Where and how do they live? They simply try to survive.  Living one day at a time. The scary thing is, that nobody really talks about these people in Congo. You barely hear anything about it on the news.

Overall I would say that this is an awesome read. It is important to have hope and Rawlence shows in this book that one should try to preserve hope. Only like this, one can change circumstances in life into something better. He shows with his book that it is important to not give up. Not give up on yourself and not give up on these people in Congo either. I have written to Ben Rawlence asking him for some advice on traveling to Congo. Besides being very helpful he said: “Just do as the locals do and you will be fine.” Let’s see.

I attached an interesting lecture by Ben Rawlence on his work in Congo and Human Rights Watch.

Thank you for reading my blog. 

“My book sat on the coffee table. I felt great. I felt frozen, completely frozen in my life. It would never stop being exactly like this. I was a great poet and I would always be alone. This was my curse. I took a couple of values and fell asleep on the big brown velvet couch that always felt like a casket. I always heard a little voice yell my name just before  lost consciousness. I thought my death would be this way. I loved it.” – Eileen Myles

How did I end up with this book? My husband sent it to me a couple of days ago because he thought I might like it. Cute! Before I start telling you if I indeed did like it or not I will give you a little insight on Eileen Myles. I actually never heard of her before. This made me think how many awesome authors are still out there that I have not read or never will? Damn… I want more time to read.

Eileen Myles was born in 1949. She is an American writer and poet who has written a volumes of poetry, nonfiction, fiction and plays. She also won a plethora of awards – the 2010 Shelley Memorial Award, Lambda Award for lesbian fiction. She also received several Arts Writers Grants. In this autobiographical novel she describes how, as a young artist, she struggled with drugs, alcohol and sex. Reading through the first fifty pages or so I found that Myles has had a similar life growing up as Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe.  Myles also describes in one of her short stories in this book how she met Allen Ginsberg. The cover of the book depicts Eileen Myles. The photographer is no other than Robert Mapplethorpe himself. (explained in her short narrative “Robert Mapplethorpe Picture” p.221)

What I loved about the book is that she writes in a candid style and very contemporary. Reading about her life is simply art. The way she wrote about her alcoholic father made me sad at points.

“Dad, the worst time ever with you was when Mary McClusky was over and you had your red lumberjack shirt on and you are lying down and you had those awful headaches which kept pounding and made you always look like you are going to cry, and you put your two fingers to your lips – were you talking on the phone lying down or were you watching a movie on teevee. You couldn’t talk and you kept making a that two-fingered gesture even though I felt like it wasn’t what you wanted I knelt down and kissed you in front of Mary. […] I think I just wanted to kiss you in front of Mary because you were lying there sick.” 

In the book you learn a great deal about her being a lesbian and how she dealt with it and lived out her sex life in the 70s in New York City. I like that the book has many short autobiographical essays but I must say that I had trouble getting into it at first. The first quarter of the book is nothing but sex, drugs, writing, art and lesbianism  – actually, the entire book is about sex, drugs, writing, art and lesbianism. Overall I have to say that I loved it. I am into the Beat Generation and I love most of the authors. I thought some of her sentences and paragraphs were insanely long but once I got into it I was fine. Sometimes I had the feeling she is writing a poem. It is really good writing and I have to say that after I finished this book I read a bunch of her poetry online. Oh, and thank you mon amour for the book. <3

I want to share this great interview of Eileen Myles about writing, New York City in the 70s and how poetry can help one to survive – if you would like to see.

Thank you for reading my blog.