I’m not the world’s best packer.  On the first round, I think I need to bring everything I could ever possibly need for the rest of my life.  I prepare for heatwaves, cold snaps, headaches, yetti attacks, and luggage that doesn’t make it to it’s final destination.  Then when my suitcase is over-stuffed and way too heavy, I start frantically chipping away at the heap without enough in the way of rhyme or reason.  This is why I ended up in Seattle in September with two summer skirts and a sundress I never even thought about wearing, yet no sneakers. Read more…

Thanks to a nomination by the fantabulous Beej, I am this month’s featured blogger on Thirty-Something Bloggers.

If you’ve come to visit from TSB, thanks for stopping by!  Check out some of my favorite posts:

1. Make Your Own Kitty Litter and More Fun With Kitty Litter 
2. Fix Your Leaky Faucet
3. No Poo and No Poo Take 2
4. Let’s Talk About My Armpits
5. Skin Care From the Kitchen Cupboard
6. Make Your Own Composter
   
7. Ain’t No Party Like a Compost Tea Party
8. Why It’s Important to Conserve Water
9. What’s So Great About Hemp
10. With Our Actions May We Be Giants

Also, please check out my friend Neil’s website to learn more about his fundraising efforts for The Cambodian Children’s Fund.

Thanks, Beej!

On Thursday we drove out to the Hoh Rainforest, past Lake Crescent again.  We could have camped out that way, but it’s actually, at least according to the book we had, hard to find a campground with hot showers in Olympic National Park.  While I could survive without a hot shower, I sure do like them, especially if we’re not backpacking and do plan to hit town on a daily basis.  And this was, after all, our vacation, so we gave in to the luxury of cleanliness.  Plus, I was kind of addicted to falling asleep to the sound of the waves — better than the old Sharper Image sound machine I used to have.  Read more…

We spent the first couple days of our trip in Seattle (and got to go to the enormous REI store, which is like the mothership for people like me).  I’m not big on touristy stuff, and neither is J.  I hate crowds, and don’t tend to enjoy any sort of attractions that have a snow globe in their honor, so we avoided the Space Needle. Read more…

So, my blogcation was also a vacation.  I didn’t just take a break from the internet, I took a break from the house, the garden, and well, everything else.  I really needed it.  Short of a few scattered weekend camping trips, and two treks out to the Adirondacks for a couple of days at a time, J and I haven’t had a vacation since we got married 4 1/2 years ago.

Mark hypothesized that I was  probably off “mothering orphaned seals” or testing my “new solar powered aircraft.”  Sadly, I wasn’t.  I’ll save that for my next vacation, but if anyone has an orphaned seal they want to send my way, the bathtub is free.

So, here’s what I was doing.

Read more…

Did you miss me?

I have to run out for a bit, but I wanted to thank

• The Good Human
• Amanda from Come the Revolution
• Fake Plastic Fish
  
• Go Green Travel Green
• Ben from Neuteronomy
• Howling Hill
• Mark from Chronicle of a Gay Marriage
• Nancy Pearl Wannabe
• Mickey from The Prettiest Denny’s Waitress
• Dianne from Dianne’s Dishes

for filling in with such great material in my absence.

And please go check out Fake Plastic Fish!  I didn’t get her site linked to her guest post last week!

Check back here this afternoon.  I’ll fill you in on where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing, and where we’ll go from here.

P.S. I think this picture totally makes me look like a superhero, don’t you?

Check out the benefit for the film Scrappers.

Set in Chicago’s labyrinth of alleyways, Scrappers is a cinema verite
portrait of three men vying against thousands of other metal
scavengers, all searching for a living with brains, brawn and battered
pickup trucks.

Friday, September 12th, 2008
6-10pm
at The AV-aerie
2000 W. Fulton
Chicago

FEATURING:
-scenes from the film
-large triple-channel projection (one night only!)
-conversation with the filmmakers and subjects
-tickets available to a private screening of the finished film
-musical performances by:

Frank Rosaly
Jonathan Crawford/Frank Rosaly/Michael Zerang percussion trio
The Friction Brothers

DJ John Corbett

$10 suggested donation at the door
RSVP required, to scrapmovie@gmail.com

Learn more or support the film online at:
www.scrappersmovie.com

David, the good guy from The Good Human, shared this great post from his archives.  

You know you used it growing up even though your mom’s pans were all beat up and flaking. You know you have used it around your own house, and you know that restaurants use it to cook your food with. You may have even heard it was bad for you. But do you know why and just how bad? Read more…

The following is a guest post by Amanda, one of the most well informed greenies I know.

Eggs. For many, they’re the sticking-point when it comes to switching away from non-stick cookware. But the production of Teflon and similar PFC-based non-stick coatings releases literally tons of the toxic hormone disruptor and carcinogen PFOA into the air every year. On top of that, an overheated non-stick pan can release enough fumes to kill a pet bird. So what is it doing to your body?

If you’ve been putting off the switch to safer cookware because you don’t want to lose out on your Sunday scrambled eggs, here’s a recipe that may just convince you. (For those of you who’ve already made the switch, well, here’s my scrambled egg bible.) Read more…

The following is a post from the archives of the unsinkable Fake Plastic Fish.

Since I started this project, I’ve run across many misconceptions (including my own) about what is and isn’t recyclable. What makes the issue so confusing is that every city has its own rules about what can and can’t be placed in curbside bins. Some areas require more separation of recyclables than others. Even among a few environmental activists I’ve met, there is confusion about recycling. If they can’t figure it out, how is the average person supposed to? So, here are a few clarifications about recycling that might help:

Read more…