Long Time No Blog

Hello All,

I can't even believe it, but apparently I haven't written anything in this here blog for a whopping three years.  How the time flies.  Due to this significant lapse in time and some recent thought about what this blog is for, I have decided a reintroduction and re-purpose of this blog idea is needed.

So here goes.  My name is Laura Cavendish, self-proclaimed Lady Cavendish.  I am the wife of Thomas Cavendish, legal alien from Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, born in Great Yarmouth, England.  Last year on September 13th, I became the mother of our first daughter, Arya Althea Cavendish with a planned home birth.  

With my husband, I am the owner, marketing director, designer, customer service representative, scheduler, organizer, accountant and construction assistant for Lord & Lady Construction LLC.  Trying to help others with building projects by giving them quality we stand behind with materials and ideas that can help the planet and ourselves as much as possible.

I also am an adjunct professor at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan.  I teach a multitude of classes, varying by semester, but consist of Digital Graphics Design 1 (learning Illustrator and InDesign), Interactive Animation 1 & 2 (learning the beginnings of Flash, Fireworks & Soundtrack) & Time Base Media 1 & 2 (learning the beginnings of Final Cut Pro & filming basics).  I teach these classes in the fall and spring semesters, finally halting my summer semester teachings for the first time this summer, deciding to give myself the extra time necessary to be with Arya, the kitchen and the gardens and animals that I so enjoy. 
 

I am also the marketing director and designer for All Eyes PC, a private optometry practice in St. Joseph, Michigan, run by my father, Dr. Robert Reed Jr, OD and my mother Mae Thomas Reed.  I help them with brainstorming and developing design ideas and create and complete all of their design work, from start to finish with the printers.

Finally, I operate an online shop at etsy.com, selling my sewing, painting and tasty treat creations with my younger sister, Paula, at www.LadyCavendish.Etsy.com.  Right now it is in desperate need of some new products to sell, but I'm still piled underneath work from all my other jobs to get anything caught up there.

In conjunction with all of those jobs, I am an explorer of the organic lifestyle.  With my family working every day to become closer with our ancestors way of life, knowing where our food comes from, sustaining ourselves and protecting our world for ourselves to live in.  Growing food, making choices, raising animals, doing what I can now, planning for more in the future.

I would not describe myself as some crazy hippie or organic purist.  I am just a normal person, who grew up in the city eating frozen food and Burger King, who moved up north and has slowly become this unknown organic farmer from within.  None of this happened overnight and every day I learn something new that I want to try doing.  My philosophy has always been that our goal should always be to change a little every day for the better.  If you try to do it all at once it becomes too overwhelming and expensive.  I always say, pick one thing, do it till its normal and then pick something else.  Before you know it, its been six years and you have no trash, drink no coffee, eat no fast food, eat all organic and local foods, only when they're in season and you're raising hundreds of animals for meat!  Okay, so maybe not before you know it, but before I knew it, it happened.

So there is me, in very short summary.  I am the writer of this blog for Lord & Lady Construction.  Originally I set this up, intending to have it as a source where we could post new exciting eco-building news and information, as well as some general green and eco-news and information.  Recently, people have been asking if I am keeping a journal or blog of all the goings on here and all the fun, exciting, green developments and projects that we work on and are a part of.  Other than posting short blips on facebook and taking hundreds upon thousands of photos, the answer is essentially no.  I don't particularly feel that my case is very unusual or unique - city girl gone country.  But then I drive by Sams Club, a store I have only set foot in once (because I was forced to go with family, then proceeded to have a reverse claustrophobia attack, which is another story/rant entirely) I see the drones plodding in and out with carts overflowing with toxic goos reminiscent of the movie, Idiocracy, and I wonder, maybe I am very different in my lifestyle choices and opinions.  

I don't know that I can help anyone and I don't know if I can open anyone's eyes and I am by no means an expert on any of the aspects I deal with, but I try and I strive to learn & improve everyday.  And after some encouragement from friends, I have decided that perhaps with this blog, I can start to share some of our experiences across the entire spectrum of our lives, not just with building green, but with everything we do.  If it will help just one person, realize one change in their lives for the better, that would make me very happy.  If this sounds like something you'd be interested in following along with, I look forward to sharing with you.

Thanks,

Laura