Take a Class and
Support Simply Living
NOTE: You may now register for each class on Eventbrite. Updates will be available on Facebook.
Archetypal Astrology 101

Sun Jan 17th 2:00pm – 3:30pm 2021
Join Chuck Lynd for a very basic but also fun introduction to the symbols that underlie the signs of the zodiac.
$10. Register on Eventbrite
DIY Cleaners/Household Sustainability Class

Tue Jan 19th 6:00pm – 7:30pm 2021
Meet in the Zoom Classroom. Learn with Amy Ceccoli how to lessen your impact on the planet and your wallet by making your own nontoxic cleaners and personal care products. Get some tips on reducing your plastic consumption.
$10. Register on Eventbrite

Cook Along with Chef Del
Tue Feb 9th 6:30pm – 8:30pm 2021
Join Chef Del Sroufe for an online cook along. We will gather remotely, and recipes will be sent in advance to give you time to shop for ingredients. Del will lead you at a slow and easy pace while he shares his secrets for making plant based food delicious. You will prepare an entrée, a side dish, and a dessert. Limited to 8 individuals. $25. Register on Eventbrite.
Simply Living Action Alert: Save Award Winning Community Garden

One of our brightest community jewels is under attack. Kossuth Street Garden, winner of the Franklin Park Conservatory Growing to Green Award, sits on property recently purchased by a developer who wants to plow it under to build 10 houses.
TAKE ACTION! Visit our blog post here for more info + pics & a LETTER YOU CAN SEND (and personalize) to make your voice heard before the Zoning Commissioners meet on Thursday, January 14. Please use the FB and Twitter links on the blog post to share this with your friends. Thank you!
New 4-Week Course on Foundations of Compassionate Nonviolent Communication

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SIMPLY LIVING’S
BE THE CHANGE COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Grassroot Ohio With Carolyn Harding: Organic/Regenerative Farmers, Mick Luber + Emily Pek. (Fri 1-1 at 5 pm & Sun 1-3 at 2) https://tockify.com/simplylivingsu/detail/127/1609538400000
Refresh Your Wardrobe with Natural Dyes (Sat 1-2 at 1 pm)
https://tockify.com/simplylivingsu/detail/328/1609610400000
Real Organic Symposium (Sundays in January)
https://tockify.com/e/simplylivingsu/detail/317/1609704000000
Real Progressives Book Club – The Deficit Myth (Stephanie Kelton – learn about Modern Money Theory (Jan 5)
https://tockify.com/simplylivingsu/detail/326/1609896600000
+
Modern Monetary Theory Study Group
4 Part series starts Monday, Jan 11
https://tockify.com/simplylivingsu/detail/325/1610400600000
Solar PV Training – Books, Training, Certification (Jan 11-17)
https://tockify.com/simplylivingsu/detail/220/1610341200000
The Power of LABOR in a GREEN ECONOMY (Jan 12)
https://tockify.com/e/simplylivingsu/detail/318/1610481600000
Conversations For A Preferred Future-Series: Permaculture Rising
A series of 7 zoom conversations with local leaders around the US whose work explores permaculture, urban ecovillages, year round gardening, and more. Hosted by Jan Spencer of Eugene Oregon. Recommended based on Jan’s presentation at a recent Simply Living meetup.
https://tockify.com/e/simplylivingsu/detail/315/1611273600000
Arc of Appalachia’s
Favorite Photos from a Most Unforgettable Year
Celebrating Nature & Art – 2020



See these and many other beautiful nature photographs and a short wintry introduction from Arc co-founder
Nancy Stranahan. See the full Newsletter here.
NEWS + RESOURCES FOR LIVING LOCAL


Is Your Water Safe?
With many resolutions around improving health in the new year, one of the specific goals people mention is to “drink more water.” While that is a foundational aspect, you might want to consider first the quality of the water you’re drinking before you increase the quantity. Why?
Water’s unique properties and qualities are what make it essential to us. It helps the human body use minerals and nutrients so that we can:
- Digest food and eliminate waste products
- Oxygenate our blood
- Manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain
- Lubricate our joints as well as protect our brain and spinal cords.
Water is essential for the body’s tiny cells so that they can grow and perform their specialized functions.
Read the rest of the blog here.
How to Turn Your Yard Into an Ecological Oasis

How to Turn Your Yard Into an Ecological Oasis
by TYLER WELLS LYNCH
For years, Toni Genberg assumed a healthy garden was a healthy habitat. That’s how she approached the landscaping around her home in northern Virginia. On trips to the local gardening center, she would privilege aesthetics, buying whatever looked pretty, “which was typically ornamental or invasive plants,” she says. Then, in 2014, Genberg attended a talk by Doug Tallamy, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware. “I learned I was actually starving our wildlife,” she says. Read the full story

All thinking worthy of the name must now be ecological.
~ Lewis Mumford


Even the small changes you make can help the planet. Check out these 20 little things you can do to reduce your environmental impact. more…
5 Tips to Safeguard Against
Electromagnetic Radiation

Your cellphone, microwave, television, and many other electronics emit electromagnetic fields — exposing you to electromagnetic radiation. Do you know how to reduce your exposure to these EMFs? more…
New Year’s Charity Fundraiser Yoga classes
The decade-plus Clintonville tradition continues…
online via Zoom for 2020/2021.
Sat Jan 1 2021 10- 11:15am
New Year’s Day Slow Flow Yoga Class
Donation links are in the discussion posts of the Facebook events; If you are not on Facebook, contact Beaker to arrange donation. Register and get the Zoom information by emailing Beaker at beakerbee@yahoo.com.


“A new human story founded on connection and diversity is emerging. It’s called localization.” ~ Local Futures
Increasingly, people are seeing through the false promises of the global consumer culture. They are recognizing the limitations of the rat-race, and the emptiness of conventional ideas about “success” and “progress”. Not surprisingly, there is a corresponding surge of interest in indigenous knowledge to guide the creation of healthier, more localized futures.


CALENDARS!
LIVE LOCAL, BUILD COMMUNITY #SIMPLYLIVING

edited by Connie Hammond (pictured above).
Email cmhammond11@att.net to subscribe to her Community Calendar or share meeting info.
Sunday, January 3, 2021, 2:00 PM. GrassRoot Ohio With Carolyn Harding. Our mission is to profile every-day people working on important issues and to connect them with other folks who want to help. Conversations with every-day people, working on important issues here in Columbus and all around Ohio. Justice: environmental, social, racial, economic, w/ folks on the front lines. LISTEN TO 94.1 FM and stream US online at WGRN.com. You can find all GrassRoot Ohio podcasts/shows on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-42674753. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grassroot-ohio/id1522559085 and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAX2t1Z7_qae803BzDF4PtQ.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021, 5:30 – 6:30 PM. What You Need to Know About: The Fraternal Order of Police Contract. Locally, two key inflection points have risen to the top of public conversation when talking about police reform: the City of Columbus’ 2021 budget and the renegotiation of the Fraternal Order of Police union contract. To shed light on these processes and how they form the parameters of what’s possible, the New Leaders Council of Columbus is (virtually) assembling activists, policymakers, and other experts for a deep-dive conversation on the FOP contract. Panelists will explain how these labor contracts work, what’s in them, and answer questions from viewers. Join New Leaders Council Columbus on January 5th, 2021 at 5:30 pm via Facebook Live for this much-needed discussion. Facebook.
Thursday, January 7, 2021, 5:00 PM. A Deadly Shame Part 2: Nurses on the frontline of the pandemic – Examining the physical and mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Led by Michelle Mahon, registered nurse and NNU Assistant Director of Nursing Practice, this webinar will examine the physical and mental health impact of Covid-19, particularly amongst nurses, care givers, and other frontline health care workers. We make sure to utilize groundbreaking research and materials developed by NNU staff to lead the discussion — and our workshops will provide the tools and information needed to advocate for nurses and amplify the life changing work we do in our communities. This webinar is part of NNU’s Nurse Advocacy Network Winter Workshop series. Register for the workshop here.
“We don’t have a right to ask whether we are going to succeed or not. The only question we have a right to ask is what’s the right thing to do? What does this Earth require of us if we want to continue to live on it?”
~ Wendell Berry
Monday, January 11, 2021, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. New England Film Premiere: Noam Chomsky– Internationalism or Extinction. A Fundraiser for Massachusetts Peace Action “No one but Noam so passionately links the twin, man-made threats to organized human existence–catastrophic climate change and nuclear doomsday machines–and no previous communication of his warnings and challenge to action has presented them so impressively. The brilliantly chosen visuals transform what might otherwise be an almost unbearable recitation of horrific facts–and the institutional failures to move toward changing them–into a presentation with a potential to inspire and motivate public activism. Link for more information and registration here.
Saturday, January 16, 2021, 10:00 AM. Virtual COWC New Member Orientation. What can you do to build power for low wage and immigrant workers in Columbus? Join us for an online new volunteer and membership orientation. In this training you will learn about the key issues facing workers and immigrants today, understand the Central Ohio Worker Center’s mission and strategy for making Columbus a place for all people, and learn what you can do to have an impact. The orientation is a prerequisite for COWC membership but is open to all residents who wish to learn more about the COWC and about grassroots social justice organizing. Please RSVP on Facebook so we can make sure to get you the details of the call!
Monday, January 18, 2021, 9:00 AM. Join the Celebration Event! 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Breakfast. “Now Is the Time.“”We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Excerpt from I Have a Dream at the Washington D.C. Civil Rights March 1963. In the wake of COVID-19 this is a virtual event open to the public, but attendance is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Advanced registration is required. Cost: $20.00. More information and registration here.

Columbus on the Cheap Good, Cheap, Fun |
In This Issue…
- New Years Eve and New Years Restaurant options for 2020
- New Year’s Eve Parties in Columbus
- Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike
- Nearly 140 free or cheap events this weekend in Columbus
- Franklin Park Conservatory discounts, Conservatory Aglow, and more
- Last chance to see Columbus Christmas lights displays, and a Google map to find them!
- Free and Cheap Winter Fun in Columbus
- Fun at the Columbus Metro Parks
- Winter Reading Challenge with Columbus Metropolitan Library
- Snow Fun: Skiing, Snowboarding, and Tubing at Mad River Mountain
- Safe Outdoor Dining: Igloos, heated patios, and more
- Free Admission Days and Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
- Family Style Meals to-go in Columbus
Keep up with Columbus on the Cheap on Facebook here. |

COLUMBUS UNDERGROUND
Mega Weekend: NYE, Gallery Hop, Free Weekends at CMA

Bye-Bye 2020! Make sure you see the Columbus Monolith, who knows how long it will be up! Are you enjoying this year’s Best Of’s? We’ve got a last call sale going on Coffee Festival Bundles and Hot Sauce! Enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy Some Live Music

The Beatles Marathon is going on today. Find out more about the artists behind it.Tune in to Teeny Tucker’s New Year’s Eve Celebration.
Ring in the New Year
Celebrate New Year’s Eve with cocktails to go! There’s also some seating at Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Barrel & Boar has a take home meal, Grandview Cafe has limited seating, and Funny Bone welcomes Damon Williams. SŌW Plated has a special New Year’s Day Brunch. Here’s some ways to celebrate safely.
Start the Year with Art

The Columbus Museum of Art will be free on Saturdays and Sundays in January, but you’ll need a timed ticket in advance, and the Raggin’ On exhibit has special pricing. Gallery Hop is still virtual and this one’s theme is Reflecting on 2020 and Women’s Work. Your time to see Conservatory Aglow is running out. It’s the final weekend for Holiday Lights at Columbus Commons and for Wildlights. You can still go Home for the Holidays with JAGtv. Enjoy the Hilltop Art Hop. An American Sunrise starts Saturday at The Vanderelli Room.
What else can you do this weekend?
Recycle your Christmas Tree with Alum Creek State Park to help make fish habitats. Recycle your polystyrene in Hilliard on Saturday. Spend the weekend catching up on the Best Films of 2020. Union Cafe’s showing the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Get outside to Inniswood Metro Gardens and snap a #cbusparkie. Watch OSU take on Clemson.
MORE LOCAL CALENDARS
Columbus Free Press Activists Calendar Editor Bob Roehm
WCBE Arts & Life Calendar
READ OUR BE THE CHANGE COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another. ~ Kenny Ausubel
Be the Change: Join Simply Living Individual membership rates have been reduced to $25 annually. Seniors, $20. Students only $10. Business memberships starting at $100 now include membership in the Ohio Sustainable Business Council.
Sign up online here or email HELLO@simplyliving.org
