The Gift from Kenya I’m Most Thankful For and Turning Black Friday Red

What’s up with the Red? While Black Friday is known for businesses turning a profit and consumers getting deals, the holidays also put many people in the red – in debt. Maybe that’s why I’m thinking more about the tall, thin Maasai in red than the round Santas in red. While I have so much more to learn about this fascinating indigenous tribe, I invite you to ponder with me how people can be happy choosing to live simply.

On my trip to Kenya we had the privilege of visiting a Maasai village (boma) and learning about their traditions. Being herders, they always moved their stock to fresh grazing grounds, which any farmer knows is as beneficial to the land as to the animals. While moving requires building new houses (manyattas) of mud, dung, sticks, and thatch, the old houses gracefully melt back into the earth with the seasonal rains. Compare that to the resources we use to rebuild or remodel buildings just because they are “dated”.

Many people are horrified to learn that the traditional Maasai diet is mostly milk and blood obtained from their cows, sheep, and goats (without harming them) along with what they can forage. Isn’t that a definition of sustainability? I am more horrified by the fact that the US throws away about 40 billion pounds – almost 40% of the US food supply – every year.

My best gift from Kenya? Besides the spectacular wildlife, I treasure the invaluable perspective gained by connecting with her beautiful people, whether traditional or modern. On my next trip, (Spoiler alert! I’m going again, and to Tanzania!) we will be touring Kibera, the largest slum on the continent of Africa, as well as exploring cultures, changes, and challenges more deeply. I look forward to sharing what I can when I can, and I hope you’ll stick with me for the ride.
Have you ever wondered how I can afford to travel to Kenya having worked at meaningful but low-paying jobs all my life? There are clues in the blog post and newsletter I wrote in November of 2019 to counter-balance the tsunami of Black Friday ads. I called it Turning Black Friday Green. With inflation and climate change, it’s even more relevant now, since it’s about saving money and saving the planet. It was sifted from my book, Enchanted – Reflections from a Joyfully Green and Frugally Rich Life. By the way, they make great gifts, as do the 2025 calendars I just created from 13 of my favorite photos of Kenya. See, I’m not against capitalism! Here’s a sneak peek – September, March, January, and May. You can order my book, wall  calendars, desk calendars or Dutch Birthday Calendars on my website   www.hollyonthelake.com   (even if I haven’t updated the photos there!) or email me     holly@hollyonthelake.com
In the interest of irrepressible joy, I will re-share a video sent by my Maasai friend Solomon of an elephant parade accompanied by heart-lifting music. Please note the drought-ridden landscape. The matriarch is leading her family to water – if it’s still there. Consider for just a moment how over-consumption in our land (and insistence on fossil fuels) is causing climate change to devastate lands around the world. Then enjoy the video, as I have many times. I have seen African people exhibit joy, warmth, and hospitality, despite their hard lives and endangered habitat. Let me know if you are interested in changing lives. There are many safe, easy, and rewarding ways to help. Or just be thankful for all we have.
By the way, an x-ray showed my fractured vertebra is healed – in only five weeks! One more thing to be super thankful for.
With joy, thanksgiving, and hope,
Holly

Turning Black Friday Green

I am truly thankful for all of you, and sincerely wish you a Happy Thanksgiving . . . and a happy Black Friday . . . though I’ve never shopped one, so what do I know? Not much. True, I’ve been selling my books, cards, and calendars, and I loved the Green Gifts Fair, where all of us home-grown, small-scale vendors sold our eco-friendly gifts. But I’ve heard that Black Friday can be stressful, so I’d like to share a few thoughts on gifts, adapted from chapter 19 of my book, Enchanted.

Do you remember your favorite childhood gifts? My first ones were dolls and the cute clothes Mom made for them. While other kids had teddy bears and Barbie Dolls, my bed was adorned with a plush octopus. At Christmas, I loved my new pajamas. I couldn’t wait to curl up under the tree in them, the flannel as soft as the glow of the multicolored lights, its fresh scent wafting with that of balsam fir.

Most of my gifts were chosen or made by Mom. But later, when I was living in my log cabin and loving my stone fireplace, Dad bought me a great little bow saw. He sharpened an old ax blade, painted it red, and put a new wooden handle on it. Then he made a simple little sawhorse. I still use these to cut and split my firewood, and I get a warm feeling every time I do. It’s not just the body heat of hard work, but the heartwarming knowledge that Dad knew me better than I thought he did and admired my strength and independence. The trick of great gifting is to listen to the person you’re buying for more than the people you’re buying from.

Americans tend to have generous spirits, and I don’t want to criticize generosity. But I will expose a sad truth—I’ve found sooo many unused treasures at rummage sales, secondhand stores, and in the trash that I just know must have been gifts. It seems to me that gift-giving has become the vine, planted with good intentions, that overgrows the house and keeps out the light. It helps to remember that generosity and frugality are not mutually exclusive. Nor are affluence and prudence. Sometimes the best gift is no gift.

Do I ever give secondhand gifts or, heaven forbid, gifts from the Curbside Boutique? Yup, occasionally, and especially when I find things in the original box or with the tag still on. If they are appropriate, and if I believe the recipient will like it and would not be shocked to know its source. (Most of my friends wouldn’t.)

This darling coat was in the trash, but still had the tag attached. I gave it to a friend for her new granddaughter.

I’ve been surprised more than once when someone has said, “You give the best gifts!” Well, sometimes they are unique. Just recently I had no idea what to get a friend for her birthday, until a mutual friend told me she loved pigs. I had a beautiful wooden curio box full of tiny pigs, made of various stone, metals, and glass, sitting in my garage. I’d found it on the curb and planned to sell it at an antique shop. But Nicki’s squeals of delight as she unwrapped each adorable piglet made it clear that somehow it had been meant for me to find and give to her. I don’t always reveal my sources, but I know doing so might be an additional gift—permission for them to do the same. Most of my friends know that I usually prefer something used to something that uses more of the earth’s resources.

This wallpaper may be out of style for walls, but still makes sturdy, unique wrapping for gifts. Tape calendar pages to bags to make your own unique gift bags. Maps make perfect wrapping for those graduates and retirees off to see the world.

Most wrapping and ribbons are not recycled, so I’m glad that I see less of any kind of wrapping these days, more often receiving and giving gifts that don’t require any. The first such gift I got was from Katie and Brad—an acre of cloud forest in South America. Wow! Nothing to take up space in my little home, just the mental image of that misty land saved from deforestation. I was thrilled. Next came my brother’s card saying a dozen fluffy yellow chicks had been given to a needy village in my name. Nice! He started a tradition I was glad to continue—llamas, bunnies, bees. Then there was a tree planted in Israel from my friends the Lunds. There are dozens of ways to honor a friend or loved one while giving to those neighbors, local or global, who are truly in need. Ways that bring lasting benefits and awareness instead of momentary laughter and a lifetime in the landfill. For those who want to make a donation in someone’s name but still give something tangible, there are many such options. The stuffed toy that a child cuddles can remind her that an endangered animal is being helped. I love buying the handmade pottery of the Empty Bowl projects and filling them with treats. My family gets the bowls, while the profit goes to fight hunger.

Giving chicks to a village in Africa can change people’s lives.

Then there are the gifts that don’t require money. My family has long given coupons for things like housecleaning and back rubs. One year, I promised to make Dad’s bag lunches whenever I was at their house on a weeknight. That pleased him and Mom. My niece Kym gave us a handmade cookbook full of her scrumptious recipes. Yum. As we age, it becomes ever more clear that time and an open heart are our most precious gifts. I know it can be really hard to resist giving gifts, especially to kids. Consider giving experiences instead of things—gifts that will make them more inquisitive, rather than acquisitive. Outings to museums or farms or camping trips don’t have to cost a lot, but may give them memories that last a lifetime.

A trip to a farm can be a fabulous gift for young or old.

Whether buying for ourselves or others, we have plenty of reasons to consciously say “Whoa!” to the cult of accumulation and “Aah, yes!” to simplicity and sustainability. We have an opportunity to become more truly ourselves, rather than cogs in the wheels of consumption and waste. We can rest gratefully in the bosom of sufficiency. We can give and receive love without enriching corporate billionaires or adding to the plastic monster* that threatens our homes and planet. We can turn Black Friday a little, or a lot, more Green, while keeping a little. or a lot, more green in our pockets.

Even in her wheelchair, Mom loved our trips to the zoo. Will coral reefs still be around for our grandchildren?

*Watch The Plastic Problem TONIGHT (Wed, 11/27/19) on PBS 9pm central time or find it online.