Hoosier Wordsmith

DIY - Why?

I was a teenager in the 1980’s, a decade known for its excess and artificiality – remember shoulder pads and big bangs? The last years of the twentieth century were comparably prosperous, and someone coined the bumper sticker “The one who dies with the most toys wins.”

Economy

Nowadays, however, times are more challenging, and rather than excess, there’s a new fad sweeping the nation: Do It Yourself, or DIY. I’m no sociologist, but it doesn’t surprise me that during a recession people are re-learning the skills that our parents and grandparents knew. My knee-jerk reaction to almost any household need is to go buy something. Learning to DIY forces me to seek handier, cheaper, more creative solutions first.

Since I’ve started writing this column, the one most people mention to me is my foray into homemade laundry soap. I’ve been making my own soap for months now, and in fact, it’s such a habit that I don’t think twice about it anymore. I can mix it up in five minutes with four ingredients: Fels Naptha soap, Borax, washing soda, and water. It costs me next to nothing, which is a good thing, since I have both a teen and a pre-girl in the house!

Empowerment

It’s economical to DIY, but it’s also empowering. By doing things myself, I feel smart and thrifty. Doing things myself also makes me feel connected. It’s fun to learn how to solve my problems using skills that have been around for years. Sure, there are some things I don’t tackle around the house – plumbing, for instance. And doing things myself takes longer, as well as trial and error. I suppose my inner child still loves an opportunity to say, “I did it myself!”

I’ve learned to knit recently. My kids learned at the Boys and Girls Club in Plymouth and taught me. I love scarves, and I love that I can now make my own (because no one else will want one of my amateur creations!). Knitting is actually quite trendy these days, along with other handcrafts such as felting, sewing, crocheting, and quilting. For someone who got a D in home economics in high school, I’m amazed that I can even knit a straight line. Sitting down to knit while watching TV or listening to the radio is relaxing, even satisfying – as long as I don’t drop a stitch.

A Resource

Recently I picked up a magazine called ReadyMade: Instructions for Everyday Life. The whole aim of the magazine is to pass along trendy DIY tips and projects. Many of the projects include reusing and repurposing objects – “upcycling” is the new term. It encourages me to look around and see what I have that could be transformed.

I’m not kidding myself. I have a long way to go before I’m living off the grid, carding my own wool and churning my own butter. However, slowly I feel as though I’m reversing the mindset I learned in the 1980’s, when buying new stuff solved every problem. Now I try to DIY!

Tomorrow I'm helping with a #Toastmasters Speechcraft workshop at our local Assisted Living facility. It's humbling to give these ladies a chance to tell their stories. I'll keep you posted!

Author Sibella Giorello Stops By

All right, booklovers, let's welcome Sibella Giorello!

Sibella has penned three books about Raleigh Harmon, FBI agent, and this is her fourth, published this year: The Mountains Bow Down.

Raleigh's one tough cookie, but she's had some definite struggles: in her career, in her love life, and most importantly, as caretaker for her mentally unstable mother. She's a woman of faith, but also a deeply flawed person shouldering a lot of burdens by herself. Not to mention bustin' perps!

I've been provided a copy of the book for a review, and I'll get to that in a moment. First, let's meet Sibella. She was kind enough to answer some questions ...

Q&A with Sibella Giorello

 

First, some questions about character ...

HW: Raleigh is smart and resilient, but she seems sad. What is eating this woman, beyond the obvious things such as her mentally-ill mom and her romantic hesitations? How do you imagine her growing as the series continues?

SG: You're right: Raleigh is sad. She's the walking wounded. If you've ever lost a parent, you know what she's feeling: a little bit orphaned. Her father was her favorite parent: and he died violently. She has nothing in common with her sister except blood. And while other women her age are having children, she's left taking care of her mother who has never been "all there." It's a lonely life.

Maybe some women would want a knight in shining armor to come rescue them, but Raleigh's stronger than that. I'm glad she's walking the suffering road without giving into self-pity. She does lose her temper, she does get frustrated. But she never tells God that He's made a mistake. The simply fact is: her heart aches, still. Yet with each book she's growing more self-aware, and more tender. And she's very honest about her flaws.

 

Mountains is set aboard a luxury cruise ship touring Alaska.  Some thoughts about setting ... 

 HW: Place seems important in your novels. How do you get a feel for your settings so that your readers can "inhabit" that place throughout the book? You might speak to the cruise ship setting especially.

SG: I like reading those books that put me right there, in another place, another time. I want to give that to readers. So when I'm researching a place, I pay close attention to the details, such as accents and attitudes. Or even how a place smells -- what is peculiar about it. Raleigh's also a geologist, so the landscape comes into play, how it was formed, and as a believer she sees God in the natural world. She sees heaven and earth declaring His glory. All of that goes into creating a sense of place for readers.

As for the cruise ship research, it was done aboard the Princess line. That was my first cruise and I took a lot of notes. Some details carried over to the novel -- the food, the lounges, some passengers -- but many details were changed to fit the characters or situations. For instance, we certainly didn't stay in that penthouse suite (I wish). And I never met our ship's head of security. Things were created pretty much from whole cloth. Or whole sea.

 

This series deals with violent crime, violent people, mental illness, back-stabbing office politics (usually not in Raleigh's favor), and a Glock-packing protagonist who struggles to manage her relationships. Not your usual novel about Amish housewives.

HW: What kinds of challenges does it pose to write suspenseful crime novels from a Christian perspective and for a primarily Christian audience?

SG: I'm convinced that writing keeps us honest.Whatever's inside our souls, it will eventually splash onto the page. So if my faith is weak or false, no way can I write about Jesus or God or Raleigh's walk through the shadowed valley in a way that reads authentically. I have to continually re-evaluate my own heart. That's painful and wonderful and challenging. It literally kicks me in the rear end every single day!

I don't write with curse words because they're cheap and stupid and we've got too many everywhere else. And I don't write about sex outside of marriage because it's also cheap and stupid and portrayed everywhere else. But aside from those two things, the world is up for consideration. My subjects have been described as "gritty." And they are. Because that's what Jesus was: gritty. He spent time with the people in need of a physician.

But I dislike the term "Christian fiction." I can't figure out if we believers can ourselves this label, or whether it was foisted upon us by the mostly anti-Christian world of secular publishing. I suspect the latter because that "Christian fiction" label turned us into an insular world. Christians read Christian fictrion. But hardly anybody outside the faith will pick it up on purpose. We're like some literary leper colony. And that's the exact opposite of what we're called for as disciples.

My goal as a writer is to offer readers a great mystery with a struggling Christian protagonist. But I never think of my books as "Christian fiction."

 

Why Sibella Giorello writes fiction ...

HW: What drew you to writing fiction after a successful career in journalism?

SG: Journalism was great; and journalism really frustrated me. I would interview people and they would say something that sounded almost perfect. Almost! But no way could I change what they said, and I could never get inside their minds. As good as any feature story was, it always felt incomplete to me. There was another truth waiting to be told. The parable version of the story, which went beyond who, what, when, where, why. That story would include the other W: wonder.

 

But what about the men in Raleigh's life?

HW: I'm thinking that Raleigh is going to give up on DeMott [her fiancee] and decide that Jack [the FBI agent she works with on the cruise] is more her type. At least I hope so. Am I right? (You don't have to answer this!)

SG: Oh, this makes me laugh! I cannot tell you how many people have asked this same question. And do you want the truth? I don't know! It's been both difficult and joyful to work through Raleigh's love for DeMott, alongside her increasingly warm feelings for Jack, though she still carries a seed of resentment toward him.

All I can say is this: she's got some work to do! And these guys are NOT going to wait forever for her to make up her mind. So stay tuned.

  

The Mountains Bow Down: A Review

A bell rang when I opened the door on the first floor. I smelled the unmistakeable odor - Eau de Funeral Home. They all smelled like this, like rose petals marinating in formaldehyde. But the receptionist was something different. Green tie-dye shirt. Long white hair cascading over bony shoulders.

She lowered the paperback she was reading - a murder mystery.

I introduced myself.

She smiled wickedly. "He's dying to see you."

Before I could reply - if I could reply - she leaned back and threw her voice at the ceiling. "Bobby! She's here about the body!"

 

The Mountains Bow Down was my first introduction to Sibella Giorello and her protagonist, Raleigh Harmon. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm not a huge fan of thrillers unless I love the writing and I'm captivated by the characters.

 

A Bit of Background

In this case, Giorello scored on both counts. A seasoned journalist, she writes like a person with words under her belt. A native of Alaska with a geology background, she literally knew her scenery inside and out, and her detailed descriptions of life on a Princess cruise liner put me on board. We encounter life in the nightclubs and at the poolside, as well as the seemier action in the bowels of the ship. Warning for you gentler readers: Giorello accurately portrays crime and criminals with an unflinching eye.

Giorello's characters also don't disappoint. We see the world through the eyes of Raleigh Harmon, who has to be the only Christian FBI agent in literary history. This makes her interesting -- how does one balance a religious faith while packing a Glock? In this case, Raleigh's urge to seek justice has emerged from the senseless death of her father, whose shooting remains unsolved and whose death has left Raleigh bereft. Her unrelenting grief is the key to Raleigh's character, a hole in her heart that keeps others at bay -- even her fiancee, DeMott.

 

The Plot Thickens

Hoping to sort out her feelings about her upcoming marriage, Raleigh accepts two tickets for a cruise to Alaska from her Aunt Charlotte, a New Age guru who happens to be traveling with a movie crew filming on board the ship. Though Raleigh is supposed to be relaxing along with her mentally unstable mother, a much-needed break for both of them, Charlotte has gotten her a consulting job with the movie crew on the ship, helping the leading man, Milo Carpenter, accurately portray an FBI agent. Raleigh is annoyed to discover, however, that she's also sharing digs with her aunt's fellow mystic, Claire the Clairvoyant, a very silly character who is really the only mis-step in this novel.

The novel opens with the death of the leading man's wife, quickly ruled a suicide by the ship's head of security, but Raleigh is immediately suspicious of murder. She manages to get herself assigned to the case, and the complications pile up. Is the ship's head of security her ally or her enemy? Why was Judy Carpenter murdered and who did it -- her philandering, alcoholic, movie star husband, or somebody more sinister? How will Raleigh continue to shelter her faltering mother -- who's supposed to be having a quiet vacation -- and hide her real occupation from nosey Claire, who, like her mother, thinks she's just a forensic geologist?

And what about Jack, another agent assigned to the case? Raleigh encountered him in a previous novel and is none too happy when he shows up to assist her. However, Jack appears to have warmed up to her, and her respect for him grows as they work together to solve the crime. It doesn't hurt that he's a good-looking charmer, either, and that they make a great team. He's also there when her mother suffers a psychotic break, for which Raleigh blames herself.

 

Just a Few Questions

Giorello's economic use of language and spot-on dialogue make this novel a rapid read, and her characters make it a page-turner. Raleigh, especially, is a sympathetic character, tough and resilient, not afraid to mix it up with some intimidating antagonists, but suffering from palpable emotional pain as she watches her mother unravel. Giorello has done her research and made her main character a convincing member of the FBI, a by-the-book agent who still tries to write her own rules sometimes and pays for it. I only wish I knew more about her relationship with DeMott, who seems to get short shrift in this book. From Raleigh's perspective, he seems to be interfering in her life, but she's engaged to marry the guy. What gives?

Giorello also adds a wealth of interesting secondary characters to her story, from the taciturn head of security (my favorite!) to the over-the-top Hollywood movie cast (hey, some stereotypes are true). The only character I couldn't connect with was Claire. She plays a crucial part in the story, but her unrelenting goofiness didn't ring true for me. Was she supposed to be comic relief? I think a more nuanced portrayal of her might have helped ... crazy or not, she seriously believed she had a gift.

 

In Conclusion

I hate to admit this, but I do not read "Christian fiction" much. Most of it I find to be formulaic and preachy. That wasn't the case with Sibella Giorello's novel. Her portrayal of a woman trying to sort out herself and her circumstances and see through the eyes of her faith compelled me from beginning to end. I will read the next installment in Raleigh's life when it appears next year. It's refreshing to read a book about a Christian protagonist who isn't perfect, preachy, or -- forgive me -- Amish or aristocratic!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Meet Sibella Giorello, Author of The Mountains Bow Down

Meet Sibella Giorello, author of the book The Mountains Bow Down and our guest on March 25th. I'm looking forward to some great Q & A with this author, who has written several books in this series about tough but conflicted Raleigh Harmon, FBI agent.

Sibella started out in journalism writing features for newspapers and magazines -- her stories won numerous awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her first novel in this series, The Stones Cry Out, received a Christy award.

Originally from Alaska, Sibella has also lived in Richmond, VA and Washington State. Her readers will recognize all three of these places as settings for her novels.

Find out more about Sibella at www.SibellaGiorello.com.

See you on March 25th!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 
Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! 

A Stop On Sibella Giorello's Blog Tour

We're rolling out the welcome mat here at Hoosier Wordsmith  ...  we're participating in a blog tour for Sibella Giorello's book The Mountains Bow Down (Thomas Nelson Publishers) on March 25th!

Our stop on the tour will feature a Q & A with the author as well as a review of her book -- one in a series of thrillers featuring her protagonist Raleigh Harmon, FBI agent. I'm looking forward to a visit with Sibella. Her feature-writing was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and her former career as a geologist finds its way into her novels.

Please join me on the 25th to learn more about the author and Raleigh, who's got issues. Seriously. But who wants to read about someone who doesn't?

(And I need to tell you that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review).

Tips for Writing Badly About Travel

In my continuing quest for What I'm Going to Be When I Grow Up, I've been looking into opportunities for travel writing. I've been to eight countries in my lifetime, and recently gave a speech at Toastmasters about traveling by public transportation in rural Kenya. The speech went over pretty well, so I'm thinking about expanding it into an article.

Incidentally, material for speaking and writing almost always overlap. I've been a member of Toastmasters for several years now and, besides feeding my creative spirit, it keeps the dreaded Comfort Zone closed for business.

Recently I ran across this brilliant piece on how to write a bad travel article by David Farley (I found a link to it on Verge Magazine's Web site).  It made me think of all the vacation slide shows I've been privy to over the years ... Snoozeville!

Hmmmm ... think I'll brainstorm about the lessons I've learned while traveling abroad. What lessons have you learned? Could you translate them into an article?

Photo credit: Marianne Peters, 2008. Spices at the market in Nice, France.

 

Asthma & Indoor Air Pollution

My youngest daughter began to experience mild asthma as a three year old. I lost a lot of sleep worrying about possible causes. It only takes one wheezy kid to make you wonder what’s in the air you’re breathing! There is a connection between indoor air pollution and asthma and allergies.

For the month of February, Hoosier Habitat has been investigating the problem of indoor air pollution, particularly those volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are found in hundreds of products we use every day. These compounds evaporate and enter our bodies by inhalation, ingestion, or absorption. Some VOCs can be quite irritating and could be behind the rising rates of asthma across the country. A few (such as benzene, found in tobacco) are known carcinogens.

As I looked for the causes of my daughter’s asthma, I realized that by using certain products I was releasing chemicals into our house that I couldn’t even pronounce, mostly ingredients in the stuff I bought to “freshen up” my home. I accept that there are going to be chemicals in my vicinity that I cannot pronounce. However, as a consumer and a mother, I decided to take a greener approach to protect the air we were breathing.

Since I’m no expert on household chemicals, I use the National Institutes of Health’s Household Products Database to see the ingredients, health effects, and safety and handling recommendations of common substances. For instance, did you know that Glade Sense & Spray Automatic Spray “Clean Linen” is combustible and, if accidentally ingested (say, by a curious toddler), requires a call to the nearest poison control center? It’s safer to actually do the laundry for that clean linen scent. This easily searchable database is found at http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm.

Information isn’t enough, however: action is required. As a new homeowner, I believed advertisers who said I needed certain products to do certain cleaning jobs around the house, the stronger the better. I remember cleaning the shower with a harsh cleanser while holding my breath! Nowadays I use the mildest solutions first to avoid exposure to VOCs. For instance, when cleaning I stick with four basic ingredients: baking soda, Borax, mild detergent, and white vinegar. My favorite all-purpose cleaner is a tablespoon of Borax in a 16 ounce spray bottle, followed by a tablespoon of vinegar, a teaspoon of dish soap, then hot water to the brim. If I’m feeling really fancy, I’ll add lemon essential oil for a nice scent. I can clean my whole house with that solution--and without a Haz-Mat suit. My go-to book for homemade cleaning products is Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan, published by Pocket Books.

One change that I’m working on now is finding greener alternatives for the household products that my family is exposed to on a regular basis, such as cosmetics or hygiene products, bedding, and clothing--all of which contain VOCs. Bedding and clothing, especially the non-wrinkling kind, are often treated with formaldehyde, a VOC that can cause contact dermatitis. The Web site www.ecochoices.com lists natural or organic products for every room in the house, and more and more retailers are stocking these products. Like every step in my green journey, it takes time to find feasible, affordable solutions and build those new habits into my life.

I pay attention to my indoor air, because I want my home to be a healthy shelter, not another source of pollution. My daughter’s asthma is much better, by the way. Did she outgrow it, or did cleaner indoor air make a difference? Maybe a little bit of both.

This article previously appeared in the Plymouth Pilot News.

VOCs: Something in the Air

 

Air pollution isn’t just produced by belching factories and it doesn’t just occur outside. In fact, indoor air pollution is among the top environmental health risks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  In one frequently-cited study, the EPA estimated that inside air is two to five times more polluted than outside air.

Many sources of indoor pollution come from human-made products.  Unless we study the labels, we may not realize the risks of using these substances. Promoting health and clean air means limiting our exposure to chemical cocktails that contain volatile organic compounds. VOCs are chemicals used in materials such as solvents and adhesives that evaporate when exposed to certain conditions, such as air or heat. Children especially need to be protected from exposure to VOCs, yet those compounds are found in toys, bedding, and hygiene products widely marketed to parents. 

VOCs are used in literally thousands of household products, released in gas form. They are responsible for that “new car” smell, the fruity scent of shampoo, the stinging in your eyes from the bathtub mildew remover, the sudden headache or cough from exposure to a paint stripper. Carpet, building materials, adhesives, paints, stains, particleboard, pesticides, printers, health and beauty products, and cleaning products all “off-gas” VOCs.

Three compounds in particular should be avoided, according to the EPA. Methylene chloride, carcinogenic to animals, is used in paint strippers, adhesive removers, and aerosol spray paints and can be converted to carbon monoxide. Benzene is found in tobacco products, paints, stored fuels, and car emissions and causes cancer in humans. Perchloroethylene, a chemical used in dry cleaning, is also carcinogenic to animals. The EPA advises removing the plastic bags from dry-cleaned clothes immediately and hanging the items in a ventilated area to “air out” before storing them in the closet.

  To reduce your exposure to VOCs and improve indoor air, start with inventorying the chemicals in your basement, utility closet, or garage and discard the ones that you are no longer using. Remember not to just toss hazardous materials – take them to the local Solid Waste District Recycle Depot for safe disposal. Tightly seal any substances you need to keep, storing them away from living areas. Inventory your household cleaners, deodorizers, and air fresheners, too. Beware of those yummy perfumes – they have no purpose other than to sell the product, and most of them are made of complex chemical cocktails. Consider making your own products. As I’ve mentioned in other columns, it’s easy to make household cleaners that are both effective and safe. Most homes don’t need harsh chemicals for basic cleaning, and a clean house doesn’t need heavy perfumes.

After purging, check your home’s ventilation. When was your heating and air conditioning system last checked? Annual cleaning and maintenance of HVAC systems is recommended for healthy air. Simply opening a window can improve inside air – not always practical in February, but even a brief blast of outside air can help. Open windows or run an exhaust fan when using VOC-containing products indoors.

I’ve often taken these chemicals for granted. They are used in so many places and products now, though, that I’m taking steps to “de-VOC” my home. Besides avoiding buying these compounds, we consumers need to voice our preference for low-VOC products, such as low-VOC paint, greener dry cleaning practices, and products that use natural ingredients. We have the power! Let’s use it! We’ll all breathe easier.

For Information on low-VOC products, contact the Natural Resources Defense Council.