tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-347688562024-03-05T03:18:15.723-05:00Light Up My RoomBlogging about my life, the environment, and the crowded intersection between.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-30422359426652302212009-04-22T14:50:00.002-05:002009-04-22T15:36:04.980-05:00Putting Up the PicklesThough I've been a terrible blogger, lately, I've been doing pretty well on the green front. Today being Earth Day, I thought I'd drop off a few notes about pickling.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3404150133_1a5cd1b1f2.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 220px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3404150133_1a5cd1b1f2.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />My first foray into food preservation has been a series of trial and error, with a few edible creations along the way. I began with <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/">Smitten Kitchen</a>'s brilliant <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/pickled-carrot-sticks/">pickled carrot sticks</a>. Delightful in every way! Not only were they beautiful to look at, but they tasted just sweet and tart enough to curl our toes and tickle our tummies. And they were remarkably easy to make!<br />Step 1: heat vinegar and spices in a pot<br />Step 2: pour over cut carrots<br />Step 3: let the carrot-vinegar mixture cool before sticking in a jar and stuffing them into the fridge<br />Step 4: duh, eat! (with better taste after a few days)<br /><br />I used a combination of regular orange and some pretty blue carrots and that resulted in... pink pickles! They were so pretty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3404154131_15e19dffc4.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 294px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3404154131_15e19dffc4.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a> and we shared them with coworkers and with TheBoy's parents and sister in San Francisco.<br />My next pickling adventure didn't go so swimmingly. I found a simple recipe for refrigerator pickles online, but it called for what I thought would be too little vinegar, so I used about the same amount for the cucumbers as I used for Smitten Kitchen's carrots... not thinking that, duh!, carrots absorb way less vinegar than cucumbers. The outcome was an unpleasantly vinegary mess of squishy pickles. Again, they came out a funny color, but this time from using red onions.. pinkish cucumber pickles are less cute than pink carrot pickles. Result: total, abject failure.<br /><br />Next, I winged it. I picked up some pickling spices from the bulk bin at a local store (<a href="http://www.naturemart.com/">NatureMart Bulk Bin</a> near the intersection of Los Feliz and Hillhurst). I poured in some vinegar, some water, and threw in a few teaspoons of spices <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3423576637_a598acb720.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 266px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3423576637_a598acb720.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>and, when that mixture was good and hot, I tossed it over some "choice" Kirby cucumbers. Kirbies are generally great for pickling, but I didn't get around to the vinegar until almost a week after buying the cukes.. needless to say, they were a little soggy by that point. And the resulting pickles reflected that. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem with these pickles that ultimately went in the garbage (even the worms wouldn't eat them!)... they were really gross! Apparently, the spices I picked up were for bread-and-butter pickles, not the Kosher dills we crave. They looked so pretty! And while it was such a shame to throw them out, we just couldn't stomach them.. something about the pungent smell of vinegar combined with the flavor of cloves and cinnamon? I wonder if maybe I got mulling spices and not pickling spices!<br /><br />With all these failed pickled experiments behind me, I'm thinking I'll maybe cave and buy some pickling mix from the grocery store, or follow another recipe online. After doing some research, though, I've found that it seems like all pickle recipes call for clove and cinnamon... why is this? The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/dining/093crex.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">New York Times</a>, <a href="http://www.chow.com/recipes/10594">Chow</a>, and even <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/05/arthur_schwartz_1.html">David Lebovitz</a> want my pickles to be yucky. Is there a gross-pickle-conspiracy growing among the interwebs.. or am I missing some vital pickle mystery?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3423577585_a69063a58a.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 209px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3423577585_a69063a58a.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-60385229389439589332009-01-19T11:42:00.005-05:002009-01-19T12:10:49.036-05:0020 Sustainable Pasttimes for Martin Luther King DayWinter is list season, so how about a list, in no particular order, of my favorite sustainable practices?<br /><br /><ol><li>going to the farmers' market</li><li>baking bread (with organic flour and multi-using the oven)</li><li>feeding the loyal pet worms/saving snacks for said pets</li><li>container gardening (look for a post soon about basil)</li><li>drinking delicious, guilt-free coffee all the way to the last drop</li><li>volunteering (at church to teach the 4-year-olds, for me... how about you?)</li><li>shredding old bank statements into pet bedding: the worms love PNC paper.</li><li>selling/giving things away on <a href="http://losangeles.craigslist.org/">Craigslist</a></li><li>donating things for which I have no use (those ugly bowls, that sweater that was so cute a few years ago, that slightly battered but still good carry on... all to <a href="http://www.outofthecloset.org/">Out of the Closet</a>)</li><li>knitting</li><li>staying in to watch <a href="http://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a>-ed movies, eating stove-popped popcorn drenched in <a href="http://bentofoodbear.blogspot.com/2009/01/making-butter.html">homemade butter </a></li><li>hanging out in the sun -- walking to work, picnicking in the park, doing the laundry</li><li>taking photos (remember that old scouts camping slogan: take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints? excellent advice!)</li><li>taking the bus: I get tons of stuff done on the bus and get to people-watch the most interesting section of the city.</li><li>taking advantage of the library. what's better than free books, movies, and audio? TheBoy gets free audiobooks (some valued <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-UNABRIDGED-CD-AUDIOBOOK/dp/B0015MQP24/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232384214&sr=8-3">as high as $80 on amazon</a>, I get my bread cookbooks, guilty pleasure foodie-reading, and hard-to-find weird movies)</li><li>saving wine corks to eventually make some fun craft, like a <a href="http://www.marjennings.com/design/winecorktrivet.cfm">trivet</a>.</li><li>incidental workouts. like that time I had sore arms for days because my bread dough was really dry and needed 15 minutes of hard kneading to turn into the delicious ciabatta it ultimately became.<br /></li><li>reusing things. I love saving money and showing off pretty purchases, so reusing glass spaghetti sauce jars is a no-brainer for storing popcorn, same with the salsa jar: lentil storage.</li><li>snuggling instead of turning the heat on.</li><li>watching important news on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/">WashingtonPost.com</a> or <a href="http://www.cnn.com/">CNN.com</a> instead of buying a TV. alternately, watching <a href="http://www.hulu.com/videos/search?query=House">junk-food shows on hulu</a> instead of buying a TV.</li></ol><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/3101783596_881efe555a.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 430px; height: 322px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/3101783596_881efe555a.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Hummingbird drinking in a friend's yard</span><br /></div>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-27899616001487576852009-01-13T22:35:00.008-05:002009-01-13T23:06:19.789-05:00Worthwhile Conservation: Obstacles and EnablersOver at <a href="http://tinychoices.com/">Tiny Choices</a>, there's been some <a href="http://tinychoices.com/2009/01/13/hankies-again/">talk about boogers</a>. Not just any boogers, though.. these are the kind that find sustainable disposable in handkerchiefs.<br />All this talk about disposable tissues vs. reusable hankies got me thinking... why is conservation so hard? What obstacles do conservors face.. what people?<br />I got my first hankie out of Gramma's basement -- it looks like (probably is) a doily and functions beautifully. I carry it, or another hankie, with my almost all the time, regardless of whether I have a cold or not. Not only do I use it to wipe my nose, but it functions as an impromptu napkin, blotter, and apple core saver (if you can bring restaurant scraps to a dog, why not cores to the worms?). Don't worry, I was my hankies frequently. VERY frequently. Gramma still <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/3171422162_505d75d99f.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 245px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/3171422162_505d75d99f.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>makes fun of me for my doily hankie, but my mother mocks the very idea of a handkerchief. To her, hankies are for stuffing suit jacket pockets, only -- merely decoration for stuffy (ha, pun!) occasions. My mother is an obstacle to conservation.<br /><br />Mom grew up during a transition time: born in the mid-sixties, Mom was blissfully unaware of the peace movements and political strife. What she saw was my Gramma slowly canning tomatoes in a water bath and diapering children with cloth. To my mother, these were needless inconveniences. Why can your own tomatoes when tin at the store costs so little and requires so little effort? Why bother with cloth diapers, swishing them in the toilet and laundering with extra hot water, when you can buy a disposable. The easy access to disposables and easy-fixes: obstacles to conservation.<br /><br />But, those are valid questions. Why, indeed? How about a few more questions, while we're at it. Why hand-knit socks? The yarn wasn't any cheaper than buying from the store and it surely wasn't as easy as finding a nice pair from a seller, but <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> made them. Thought and time and <span style="font-style: italic;">love</span> went into them. Last Christmas, when I gave Gramma a specially machine-made pair of diabetic-friendly socks, she was thankful, of course. This year, she demanded I help her into her new, handmade favorites. Her nursing home friends all see her prize gift and she beams with pride for her talented granddaughter.<br />The same goes with my homemade bread. It doesn't take that much time, though, or love to make a decent loaf, but it surely involves more than buying some Wonder bread from Wal-Mart. Of course, nothing beats the smell of a loaf emerging from the oven, but it's more than that: TheBoy prizes my whole wheat loaf over any fancier store-bought version because<span style="font-style: italic;"> I</span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/3171443260_13c6c0dba5.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 340px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/3171443260_13c6c0dba5.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>made it. He doesn't care if it's soggy inside or turns stale in just two days -- it's the bread specially made for him and him alone.<br /><br />The point of this ranting? Making things at home, or just making do requires your effort and love. You can't buy love? Well, you can't just buy effort, either. And those cloth baby diapers: they leave fewer rashes on baby's bums. Those home-canned tomatoes: totally organic at a time when pesticide use was on the rise and DDT was still pretty common. Worthwhile.<br />What do you think: is it worth the effort and love expenditures to make things homemade, to conserve while you can? Or, are the obstacles of convenience and ridicule too difficult to overcome?<br /><br />Incidentally, I'm not trying to judge here. I buy into tons of convenience items, I just happen to make bread at home (and now butter, check into <a href="http://bentofoodbear.blogspot.com/">my food blog</a> soon for a post). For a bit of uplifting thought, how about the conservation enablers in your life? <a href="http://farmersdaughterct.wordpress.com/">Farmer's Daughter</a> recently <a href="http://farmersdaughterct.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/conscious-environmentalism/">posted </a>about the wonderful impact of her family's matriarchs and it got me thinking about enablers and obstacles. Who helps you "make do"? Who hinders you?psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-64004743989428341412009-01-06T15:30:00.004-05:002009-01-06T16:14:31.821-05:00Green Resolutions<a href="http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/">Crunchy Domestic Goddess</a>, one of the many wonderful green blogs that I follow, issued a <a href="http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2009/01/05/great-green-goals-for-2009/">fantastic challenge</a>: share your green goals for 2009. One thing that I love about the blogs I've lurked around is how open they are to followers, commenters, and general participants -- there's a real community in the green blogging world, and I think it's wonderful how bloggers can lead each other to fresh ideas.<br /><br />How about a review of 2008's successes? I didn't have a really green agenda at the beginning of the year, so this is really just a list of things I'm particularly happy about from the past year.<br /><ul><li>Stepped up farmers' market patronage significantly (now only shop at grocery store for <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/3138340801_6c33cc441e.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 157px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/3138340801_6c33cc441e.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>flour, sugar, and some other necessities not available/affordable at the FM)</li><li>Cut out most paper towel usage (I still haven't bought any, but future MIL keeps supplying)</li><li>Baked bread at home</li><li>Switched to "green" cleaners like vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and Clorox's GreenWorks cleaner</li><li>Didn't buy a car, even in car heaven (i.e. I use public transportation, walking, or biking)</li><li>Slowed down unnecessary purchases</li><li>Cooked more at home</li><li>Greened up the office (more recycling bins, healthier/less packaged snacks, more annoying reminders to recycle)</li><li>Started worm composting</li><li>Increased knitting skill (+2 intellect, +3 dexterity, -4 exercising time)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1347/3171430524_0857faefbe.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 250px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1347/3171430524_0857faefbe.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a></li></ul><br />And now for this year's goals:<br /><ul><li>Learn to can (like Crunchy last year, I'm a novice to "putting things by," but I love the idea of making my own apple sauce and preserving it for Southern California's brief off-season)</li><li>Completely ditch paper towels</li><li>Completely ditch unhealthy cleaners (that bottle of 409 has got to go)</li><li>Increase knitting skill further. More specifically, complete a major project (sweater, blanket, or stockings) before 2010.</li><li>Start a container garden.</li><li>Join the<a href="http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/"> local CSA</a>. This is unfortunately a long-term goal because the annual sign-up isn't until autumn. </li><li>Seriously reduce consumption.<br /></li><li>Plan a green wedding (I'm getting hitched in June 2010).</li><li>And, finally, get out an enjoy this beautiful country. I have so much to see in the U.S. and I am aiming for 2009 to be a good time to accomplish some seeing.</li></ul>I hope that everyone else is successful in their New Year's resolutions... I certainly hope I am! Do you have some green resolutions? Share them in comments.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1153/3171450878_0b8173f09c.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 354px; height: 265px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1153/3171450878_0b8173f09c.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-71266925084060006132009-01-05T19:44:00.004-05:002009-01-05T20:28:52.193-05:00And Back! BookReview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farmersdaughterct.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/animal-vegetable-miracle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="http://farmersdaughterct.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/animal-vegetable-miracle.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I hope everyone's begun a wonderful, healthy, happy new year. I'm finally back from my seemingly endless, 8-day venture "back east" and ...I could use another vacation. We saw tons of lovely people, I had a delightful breakfast with my bridesmaids, and TheBoy and I spent a great deal of time just bonding and getting along together.<br /><br />Over the vacation, I made some progress on a number of eco-related things, chief of which included finishing "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." Kingsolver's book really urged me to look hard at the way and things I eat. Unlike Pollan's, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which really only made me feel guilty about eating, Kingsolver's uplifting views challenged me to work toward a positive, wholesome food outlook.<br />Now, I loved "The Omnivore's Dilemma," but I felt that Pollan only presented negatives -- what <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>to eat -- a completely valid piece, but his only positive options were too inaccessible for me. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" could easily have been equally inaccessible, considering that it takes place on a rural farm in Appalachia, but Kingsolver worked hard to bridge the considerable gap between temperate Virginia and my home here in Southern California, land of the endless growing season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Book Summary</span>: "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life" is, as the title suggests, primarily about food. The author's family moves from Tuscon to Southern Appalachia to ahcieve a year of local-only eating, with all the necessary steps involved in that decision. Kingsolver presents a concept of the "vegetannual," a fictional everyplant that represents all stages and seasons of plant production. We move from the seedlings and greens, in the vegetannual's spring, to fruits in the summer, to roots and squash in the autumn. The winter season bears harvests "put by" in cans along with dried and frozen goods. Kingsolver animates their year of food life with highlights from a family vacation, a Tuscan second honeymoon, and generous dashes of good humor.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Vegetannual-314x423.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 395px;" src="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Vegetannual-314x423.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There are no bananas in the Kingsolver kitchen, but this delightful book provides plenty of interest with husband Steven L. Hopp's brief, on-topic essays about ecology and where to find more information along with daughter Camille's fantastic recipes and youthful interjections. The book is light-hearted and interesting, reads clearly and with pleasure, and provides a wealth of knowledge along with completely approachable topics. The accompanying <a href="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/">website </a>provides an index to the book and also a complete listing of all the <a href="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Recipes.html">recipes</a>, including the <a href="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Mozzarella.pdf">30-Minute Mozzarella</a> (pdf) that I'm dying to try out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Overall</span>, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in getting more involved with their food, food choices, and health. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" is a wonderful book brimming with knowledge and good taste.<br /><br />Incidentally, I'm not the only one to read books about food lately -- TheBoy is embarking on the audio book version of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Farmer's Daughter <a href="http://farmersdaughterct.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/book-review-animal-vegetable-miracle/">reviewed </a>"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" on her <a href="http://farmersdaughterct.wordpress.com/">ever-delightful blog</a>.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-14201781128644562662008-12-22T16:53:00.002-05:002008-12-22T17:01:15.003-05:00Holiday HiatusHere in Tinseltown, we believe in long, drawn out, unpaid vacations. Because this (frankly unwanted) vacation time will impinge upon my constant computer vigilance, I will be updating less frequently until the beginning of January.<br />In the meantime, if there's anything you'd like to see written about in this blog, post a comment and I'll cover it. Otherwise, look forward to local food lectures, ideas for green decluttering, and eco-friendly snack ideas.<br /><br />Happy holidays, everyone! Enjoy your snow, mistletoe, and other optional holiday accouterments.<br /><br />In case you thought this post would be without pictures, allow me to prove you wrong. May I present our mushy-lovey wannabe Christmas card photo:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/3116418584_b7704e7b59.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 264px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/3116418584_b7704e7b59.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-52303661226392888012008-12-18T16:17:00.001-05:002008-12-18T16:19:22.550-05:00Edit to Lower-Impact ChristmasThough we love the idea of reusing this year's do-it-yourself tree, we'll probably go with a <a href="http://www.thecardboardtree.com/#/product.php">Cardboard Christmas tree</a> next year. This product seems super great and my only problem with it is that I found it <span style="font-style: italic;">after </span>we had already made our own.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-81655036690706375802008-12-17T15:55:00.004-05:002008-12-18T15:58:40.039-05:00Our Low-Impact ChristmasLately, I've been trying to get in the holiday spirit in this snowless, not-that-cold town. Let me tell you, it's tough. First of all, I wore flip flops to Thanksgiving dinner... can we say "major paradigm shift?" Then, there was the issue of the tree. I'm allergic to cut trees, they make my face melt in boogers. Despite my allergy, we didn't want to buy a PVC-and-lead-laden synthetic Christmas tree.<br />We were left with quite a dilemma.<br /><br />I searched online for sustainable alternatives and I found a few possibilities, but none of them seemed right for us. First, there was the <a href="http://wtnh.tv/blogs/index.php/anchors/2008/12/09/this-is-one-giant-knitted-christmas-tree">giant Christmas tree</a> made of knitted<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/3100966425_058eef8d0d.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 210px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/3100966425_058eef8d0d.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a> sweater sleeves. Now, I like knitting, but I've already got a few projects on the needles and I can't multitask <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> well. Then, I found patterns for mini knitted Christmas trees, but we wanted something on which we could string standard size lights. There was also the incredible <a href="http://mdewtree.com/">Mountain Dew Christmas tree,</a> made of more Mountain Dew cans than we could ever drain. Obviously, not a real option for us, though a truly unique recycling effort.<br /><br />We tried other living tree options: like tiny evergreen indoor shrubs or potted pines, but they cost a good deal more than our budget allows and I have a totally un-green thumb. So, we were left with a potentially evergreen-free holiday.<br /><br />No, we had to create our own Christmas tree alternative. TheBoy suggested something that I initially shot-down, but which later became our option: a paper tree. I had thought maybe of a hat rack or a ladder (or tripod, which we actually have), but we decided against those, too. A few more soul-searching conversations later, and we had decided to make a brief Target run for some posterboard, green paint, and a paint brush.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/3115585205_01bbcfdf11.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 226px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/3115585205_01bbcfdf11.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We ended up coming home with two neon green posterboards, a bottle of Crayola non-toxic kids' paint, a quality paintbrush, and some pretty candy-cane striped ribbon. Some creative cutting and sloppy brushstrokes produced the proto-tree and some tape, LED Christmas lights, striped ribbon, and a few ornaments gathered up to make a truly festive, sustainable holiday wall ornament.<br /><br />After I'd finished the tree, I still had some green paint leftover. Following a suggestion that I found on the wonderful internets, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3115591425_6ab760da49.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 346px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3115591425_6ab760da49.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>I painted our still-fresh Halloween and Thanksgiving pumpkins. After a few more coats, I'll use a pretty silver sharpie to color on some stars and make our previously fall-themed decorations into a lovely holiday bauble. After the holidays, I'll cut the bottoms out of the pumpkins and roast the seeds to make a delicious, edible New Years treat -- I may even wash off the paint and feed the gourd to our pet. I'm sure they'd love the treat!<br /><br />Aside from the tree, we're trying to lower the impact of our gift-giving. Without skimping on quality, we've been able to produce great gifts for our family and friends. Instead of gifting TheBoy's dad with another worthless golf thing, we all chipped in to buy him a personalized iPod -- something that he'll really use for a long time. For his mother, we found a local-artist-made cheese plate made out of a recycled wine bottle. I knitted up a gift bag in polyester yarn made from recycled plastic bottles. How awesome! For one friend, instead of a lame-o worthless gift, we found him an affordable flatware set to replace his flock of years-old plastic forks. For all our other friends, we're making cookies -- having fun and spending time together, instead of finding them landfill-bound gag gifts. Overall, we've spent this holiday season thinking hard about how useful and loving our gifts will be when bestowed upon our loved ones.<br /><br />What things are you doing to make your holiday lower-impact? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/3116417592_1f6077911e.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/3116417592_1f6077911e.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-80995160757683760642008-12-16T14:17:00.002-05:002008-12-16T15:33:11.756-05:00The Second R<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/3101752012_b5611a4242.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 219px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/3101752012_b5611a4242.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The three big R's of conservation: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. All three of them are important, and I'm going to start a three-part series on them, starting with number two (of course!).<br /><br />Really, I think that reusing is the easiest method of conservation. Unlike reducing, which takes habit changes, and unlike recycling, which can be tough if you don't have curbside pickup -- all you need to reuse things is a little creativity.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3101764840_0f190e0b92.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 211px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3101764840_0f190e0b92.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Take, for instance, my reluctance to buy a rolling pint o make my gingerbread cookies. You can read the whole story <a href="http://bentofoodbear.blogspot.com/2008/12/recipes-with-molasses-cookies.html">here</a>, but the short story is: rolling pin was too pricey, so I used a wine bottle.<br /><br />Another instance was when I had TheBoy's lunch all ready to go, but his lunch carry-bag was dirty. Instead of letting the box go unwrapped (and possibly spill all over my backpack), I used a dinner napkin as a temporary furoshiki, or Japanese <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/3059943437_72f1070aea.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 200px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/3059943437_72f1070aea.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>lunchbox wrap. TheBoy was also able to use the napkin for its intended purpose of cleaning up untidy lunch messes.<br /><br />Another, more fun creative reuse was the first time I did laundry in our new apartment. We hadn't bought a drying rack yet, but I hate drying clothes and wasting all that energy just to shorten the wearable lifetime of my clothing. So, I piled our clothes all over the house, including on an endtable in the living room. What a sight to see!<br />Even much simpler reuses can be really effective. I have a lot of little items in my kitchen -- mostly stuff that I use to pack our lunches. So, instead of letting the drawer become a horrible jumble of junk, I used a flatware organizer to keep all my lunchbox accessories tidy and accessible. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2969731130_7e63aa8868.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 222px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2969731130_7e63aa8868.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>This picture doesn't truly do the drawer, or its contents, justice -- you can barely see the pink jelly bean-shaped Easter egg that my mother gave me: I use it to put nuts and small candies into our lunches without them getting everywhere. You can see the reusable silicone baking cups, though -- I constantly use them in our lunches to organize small portions of foods that shouldn't touch other foods. Today, in fact, I'm using one to separate some vegetable stir fry from grapes in TheBoy's lunch. Of course, simply using reusable lunchboxes counts as reuse, too.<br /><br />TheBoy wore an old pair of pants into unwearable rags. Instead of throwing them out, I'm giving them new life as a draft dodger -- I'll patch the holes (with rag patches, likely) and sew the legs and waist shut. Addition of some batting and maybe some baggies full of sand or kitty litter will make that old pair of pants into a charming way to keep cold air from seeping under our door.<br /><br />Another of the very simple things we reuse is ziploc bags. TheBoy's mother gave us a huuuuge package of baggies when we moved into the new place and, instead of potentially insulting her and turning them down, we accepted them and use them very carefully. We use one gallon size bag<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2969704636_9daa036e96.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 217px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2969704636_9daa036e96.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a> to keep our worm compost scraps in the freezer (so they don't rot and make the worms sick). Instead of throwing out the bag at the end of the week when we feed our worms, I wash the bag with soapy water and reuse it until it no longer seals, and only then will I reluctantly pitch it our. We reuse bags like that frequently, just not with raw meats. If a bag holds strawberries in the fridge, it's eligible for a second life as a cookie bag or bag of toiletries for travel.<br /><br />What interesting ways have you found to reuse things in your own household?psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-25784566244547993502008-12-15T21:37:00.002-05:002008-12-15T22:26:35.881-05:00Saving PaperThis morning, the heavens opened over L.A.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2969710176_fd85abd41b.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 237px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2969710176_fd85abd41b.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And this morning, I awoke to the glorious sound of rain -- not from the outside, tapping on the window, but from inside, dripping into my windowsill. ::sigh::<br /><br />Fortunately, the windowsill is wide and the rain was only leaking in through a relatively small hole, so there was no major problem, but we were still a little miffed ("what hasn't gone wrong in our apartment" was the phrase of the morning). There was one positive outcome of the rainy windowsill, though: I got the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/3061494483_58e6d33cd9.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 205px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/3061494483_58e6d33cd9.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a> opportunity to save a great deal of paper towels by reusing a dirty bath towel. The windowsill, you see, is pretty dingy (the fires in L.A. left a huge dust deposit) and I was sorely tempted to take advantage of the water to clean up the sill and dry at the same time, with paper towels. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2969707108_d689ef2086.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 330px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2969707108_d689ef2086.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>Instead, I achieved the same goal with a brown bath towel that won't show the dirt. Though this seems like a small accomplishment, to me, it's a major leap.<br /><br />I grew up cleaning up all messes with paper towels, no matter how extensive. Paper towels, of course, have their place: they're great for bug killing (I actually cut up paper towels to make tiny, bug-killing swatches) and they're fabulous for wiping up staining spills (more on that in a moment), but, by and large, they are a nuisance about which I feel guilty.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/3060815012_fcb5d84d56.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 322px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/3060815012_fcb5d84d56.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So, I am attempting to switch off my paper towel addiction. By enriching my already plentiful stock of dish towels, I hope to keep the kitchen paper-free. I hope to hit up some thrift stores for new-to-me items and, when they're stained beyond recognition, I plan to donate them to either the rag pile or an animal shelter where they'll use the towels as bedding for lonesome animals.<br /><br />Part of my reluctance to use non-paper towels, especially in the kitchen, is my intolerance for stains. Slowly, though, I am learning to let go. A stained kitchen towel is not a sign of weakness or any other negative. Instead, it is a positive, healthy, natural progression in a paper-free kitchen. I can be proud of my stained towels for the positive impact they'll make on my environmental efforts. And, if I'm feeling a little less proud, maybe I can set aside a few towels for when company comes over.<br /><br />Fortunately, most of our towels are hand-me-downs from my mother and are already colorful, so a little staining won't make a huge difference. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/3059939299_e44ff8540c.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 248px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/3059939299_e44ff8540c.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-37380933720191875762008-12-11T14:59:00.004-05:002008-12-11T16:00:26.071-05:00Food (Democracy) Fights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2969715056_0ab57c77c6.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 225px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2969715056_0ab57c77c6.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />When I can, I try to take advantage of the many golden food opportunities here in the Golden State (that is California's motto, right?). I try to make it every week to the year-round <a href="http://www.farmernet.com/events/one-cfm?venue_id=587">Hollywood Farmers' Market</a> right , I try to buy organic, use my food dollars to vote for sustainable choices... In short, I'm trying to make my mark.<br />Some notable others, though, have been able to make a much greater impact than I can alone. Their work has culminated in a petition to foster Food Democracy in our new administration. You can sign the petition <a href="http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/">here </a>-- it's basically a letter to the President-Elect stating that we need to develop sustainable food practices in the United States. It concludes with a shortlist of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2969718260_926f56c752.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 228px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2969718260_926f56c752.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>suggested Secretary of Agriculture candidates. (Thanks to <a href="http://www.greenphonebooth.com/2008/12/food-democracy.html">GreenBean </a>for the initial info about Food Democracy).<br /><br />Other major impacts on the food movement have come in the form of one book that I adore, <a href="http://www.michaelpollan.com/">Michael Pollan's</a> <a href="http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php">The Omnivore's Dilemma</a>, and in the form of one book that I'm just starting, <a href="http://www.kingsolver.com/home/index.asp">Babara Kingsolver's</a> <a href="http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/">Animal, Vegetable, Miracle</a>. Look for full book reviews of both books in the future. Pollan's fantastic (and very lengthy) <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html">New York Times article</a> on the matter is both enlightening and upsetting. Take a look at it before you make your next grocery store trip.<br /><br />P.S. One of my favorite ways to practice sustainable produce procurement is to check out <a href="http://fallenfruit.org/">Fallen Fruit's </a>website, looking for local, public fruit. Fallen Fruit publishes a map of all the public fruit in an area. Public fruit is fruit that grows over public space -- like the pomegranates that hang over the sidewalk in front of my neighbor's lawn. Yum! They are so tart and fresh and way better than store-bought.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2969719234_598324a6fb.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 298px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2969719234_598324a6fb.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-37693320950577393682008-12-11T11:39:00.002-05:002008-12-11T12:54:07.717-05:00PollutionIn my life, there are all kinds of special pollutants.<br />Of course, there's the obligatory smog (it's pretty awfu!), but there are other pollutants that I barely think about until I come stumbling across them.<br /><br />We all know about the variety of pollutants out there: toxin waste in the water, nasty chems in the air, smelly garbage that leaves our tailpipes.... but what about all the waste that isn't so tangible?<br />At work, they're doing some construction on our ceiling and it's filling my office environment with some pretty unpleasant pollutants. The workers are wearing face masks and we're just all developing runny noses and (even more) irritated attitudes. Their construction dust is a major air pollutant for our micro-environment.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/3059952723_f28ca53ac6.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 245px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/3059952723_f28ca53ac6.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Another set of contractors at work is building a new, totally unnecessary railing on the staircase right by my desk. These men are hammering, hollering, and, worst of all, dentist-drilling all day. Their bothersome noise distracts us from work and keeps us feeling unpleasant all day. Another pollutant.<br /><br />Work another, more insidious, pollutant: people. Working in the entertainment industry is a serious far cry from my wholesome previous jobs as a tutor or even an employee in a convenience store. The office politics scenario is totally foreign to me and I managed to make some serious faux pas before I learned to hold my tongue -- even when some jerkbag stuck a huge box of recyclables in the garbage, not the recylcing bin <span style="font-style: italic;">right next to the garbage can.</span> These office politics, more than any of the other, temporary pollutants, is the most irksome.<br /><br />Even when we clean up our act in terms of tangible pollutants and leave behind the transigent noise and dust pollution, we'll still have damaging human run-off distressing our environments.<br />How do <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span> deal with human-attitude waste?psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-59714466104499021582008-12-10T14:34:00.004-05:002008-12-10T18:36:47.376-05:00Walking to Work<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2968888441_c5a18d4ff4.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 234px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2968888441_c5a18d4ff4.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>I live in Los Angeles. When I decided that I would forego a car, here, in the car capital of the Western world, I met a lot of skepticism. It was hard enough to go carless in my college town (dear old State College, PA) and even tougher to go car-free in my hometown, West Chester, PA. Getting around in a major city, one without a major/fantastic public transportation system, sounded almost impossible.<br /><br />It's not.<br /><br />Walking and biking in Los Angeles is not only possible but, sometimes, fun and entertaining. First up, the weather is always great. You're almost never going to be walking in the rain, and you'll nevernever be walking through snow. I've got a great tan (well, I'm a little less pale than usual for December) from my morning walks. Of course, when it does rain, watch out! The people around here drive like maniacs when the rain falls. If you can imagine how east-coasters drive in 3-4 feet of snow, then you can perfectly picture how L.A. drivers handle rain.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2647486186_1051f73690.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 232px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2647486186_1051f73690.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Seeing people on the street is always an interesting treat for me -- it isn't usually the fancy, Hummer-drivers walking around, it's the pepole with real issues and real interests. (Who am I to judge, of course, but I'll take a walker over a wanton polluter any day). Unfortunately, many of the people you see on the street are homeless people, wandering around, pushing their grocery carts full of cast-offs. Occasionally, I have the chance to help someone out, even if it's only in a small way, by picking up that bag they dropped, or just smiling out from the smog.<br /><br />Before I started working so close to home, I worked pretty far away -- a 45 minute-by-car commute. Instead of caving and buying a car, I combined biking and a Metro ride to give myself some great exercise and some time to quiet down on the bus. I biked to the bus stop, slung my bike onto the front of the bus, and then biked from the bus stop near my destination to my employer. I biked for less than a mile and the bus ride + biking only took about 1 hour. Instead of slapping myself into an expensive machine, wasting precious resources (oil and freetime), I got some healthy sunshine and fresh air<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2969712208_23d7d747c7.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 232px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2969712208_23d7d747c7.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a> and some time to work on my knitting and reading.<br /><br />I am really pleased that I'm in a situation to walk or bike to work, but what about other people who don't live 1 mile from their employers? They shouldn't despair! Even L.A.'s famously awful Metro system isn't all that bad. They have a really handy <a href="http://metro.net/default.asp">website </a>with a trip-planner and information about how to purchase fare pass cards. Considering traffic, the buses are sometimes faster than driving because people give them a wide berth, preventing them from getting stuck behind any grandmas or smart pedestrians (the occasional extra-dumb person <span style="font-style: italic;">will </span>dart in front of a bus, but most have a little more sense than that). The rail lines, though I haven't actually used them, are supposed to be pretty awesome, too. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/3060694690_bc79f0e65d.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 325px; height: 243px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/3060694690_bc79f0e65d.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>If nothing else, they're super clean because not that many people really use them. In fact, the station at Hollywood and Argyle, right outside the <a href="http://www.pantages-theatre.com/">Pantages theatre</a>, is really cool looking. I want to ride the rails just to see that station again.<br />I like to take advantage of my Metro time to knit, read, or just think and observe.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-5176551208071941042008-12-09T20:21:00.008-05:002008-12-09T22:46:37.917-05:00New Gears<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/3060795144_9fc13113ae.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 211px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/3060795144_9fc13113ae.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>Once again, I'm changing the tune of this blog. From here on out, look for happy updates about the environment and my attempts to decrease my (our) impact on it.<br /><br />Recent Green Changes:<br /><ul><li>Make homemade, whole wheat bread (just bought organic flour to make this ++ effective)</li><li>Stop wasting food: compost absolutely everything possible (even when I don't feel like it)<br /></li><li>Buy as much produce as possible at Hollywood Farmers' Market, organic when able<br /></li><li>Use only free-range, organic eggs</li><li>Stop using antibacterial soap. Regular soap <span style="font-style: italic;">works just as well</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/3062331482_c4f9343750.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 182px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/3062331482_c4f9343750.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a></li><li>Make less garbage</li><li>Turn lights off when leaving the room,<span style="font-style: italic;"> every time</span></li><li>Clean with sustainable cleaners (vinegar, Clorox GreenWorks, non-phosphate dishsoap)</li><li>Attend more local entertainment activities (as opposed to car-based travel)</li><li>Walk/Bike to work</li><li>Walk to local activities as much as possible (church and restaurants, for instance)</li><li>Take shorter showers (together? too scandalous!)</li><li>Combine cooking (cook lasagna right after bread while the oven is still hot)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2969731130_7e63aa8868.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 204px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2969731130_7e63aa8868.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a></li><li>Use a sweater instead of the heater</li><li>Repurpose ratty old t-shirts into cleaning rags </li><li>Use natural light as much as possible instead of lamps</li><li>Wash clothes in warm, not hot water (except for that one time I had to kill the kitten flees)</li><li>Hang clothes to dry on rack or hangers<br /></li></ul><br />Green Goals:<br /><ul><li>Eat less meat (3x per week, max)</li><li>Consume less dairy<br /></li><li>Switch toiletries to organics (toothpaste to baking soda, shampoo to castille soap)</li><li>Connect with loved ones instead of gift-giving (or homemade gifts, too!)</li><li>Eschew unnecessary packaging</li><li>Use bulk bins as much as possible</li><li>Buy organic as much as possible</li><li>Unplug appliances/electronics when not in use</li><li>As they burn out, replace old lightbulbs with CFLs </li><li>Use LED Christmas lights (yeah, we have holiday spirit!)</li><li>DON'T buy a plastic Christmas tree (PVC + shipping from China + other toxins = NO)</li><li>Wash clothes in cold water<br /></li></ul>Whew! Now that the lists are out, the real blogging can begin.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-5365727021846325572008-07-30T14:15:00.003-05:002008-07-30T15:24:36.472-05:00Dr. Horrible and EarthquakesDear California, wtf? Don't you think you're a bit warm to be shivering in late July? Yesterday, I finally realized that I'm moving to one of the most seismically active regions in the world -- Southern California. I got a tweet yesterday from TheBoy saying "Felt the Quake. Ok at Paramount." (Paramount being his place of employment.. my metropolitan baby). Yikes! That little message really brought home the message: California just isn't as safe as Pennsylvania, at least in terms of still earth. Though it measured a 5.4 on the Richter scale, this quake didn't really do any damage, except maybe a few <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/us/30quake.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1217448228-ZQhqEkUlpkKQc15uppKZow">broken vases in Pasadena</a>. Well, that's a relief, but, as <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-JQC5ESySZKfb7WpG_XRBRxNNYwD928B4KO4">this article</a> seems adamant upon proving, the "Big One" is still out there.. lurking(?) in the shadows, just waiting to get it's rocky hands on our sprawling city. Now, I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty presumptuous of these scientists to just go about spreading fear among already tense Californians, telling them that they're going to get a bigger shock soon. As far as I understand, there are zero earthquake detection abilities and zero reason for scientists to try to frighten everyone, especially considering how well Los Angeles reacted to this quake, and how much they improved infrastructure since the last "Big One" in '94. <div><br /></div><div>Despite the quake and its faulty news coverage, some good news has come out of SoCal lately: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">D</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.drhorrible.com/index.html">r. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog</a></span>. Let me set the scene for you: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Patrick_Harris">Neil Patrick Harris</a> (famous for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Doogie Howse</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">r</span>, among other roles) plays Dr. Horrible, the sentimental but evil supervillain just trying to make his way into the Evil League of Evil and get the girl of his dreams. His archnemesis, Captain Hammer (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Fillion">Nathan Fillion</a>, of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Firefly</span> fame), has other plans, though, and woos the girl (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Day">Felicia Day</a>, star of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.watchtheguild.com/">The Guild</a></span> web series) while foiling evil plans. The best part of this combination (aside from Malcolm Reynolds, reborn)? It's a MUSICAL. By JOSS WHEDON (and his extended family). !! </div><div> <a href="http://www.drhorrible.com/"><img src="http://www.drhorrible.com/images/banners/banner2.gif" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>This brilliant, three-episode web series is the baby of the writers' strike and the internet: a perfect match as any. Their web distribution scheme was great; releasing a new episode every other day and leaving them up for only a few more days before making them exclusively available on iTunes (unfortunately with DRM, but what can you do about that for now?). Now, of course, Hulu, the interweb's favorite source for streaming video, has hooked us up and, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Dr. Horrible</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">'s</span> creators, in a really awesome move, posted the streaming video back up on their site. Way to go, internet! Way to go Whedon! Seriously, could I be more of a ridiculous fangirl right now? Probably not. Go <a href="http://www.drhorrible.com/mushortio.html">watch</a> it! </div>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-74749344915664218262008-07-24T09:51:00.005-05:002008-11-18T22:27:19.907-05:00Old News and ObamaOld news first: a few months ago, I attended a really interesting symposium. Hosted at the Penn Stater Conference Center, the symposium was about teaching and learning with technology. There, I really picked up my interest in <a href="http://twitter.com/psuklinkie">Twitter</a> and got a chance to hear <a href="http://www.lessig.org/blog/">TheManHimself</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig">Lawrence Lessig</a>, speak about Free Culture and how copyright is hurting academia. Aside from all the glitz and glamor of attending a whole conference based on hurling insults at current copyright regulation (among other things, of course), I made my way into a podc<img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IK62Dt0YF4iQRIgYKXQ2cF4zf4YxU2iWfx4LKw6tUkHYUcmS6BlEZrNdN4ACiwW00iRFrAw1jsBlc31oqjjUonLjtJhfhYYIO1vu2RLZ1TeP8r483eyTB2k3Xe37dBbjbiZV/s320/lessig.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226601548711564338" />ast. A symposium staff member was going around with an iPod with a mic attachment, asking people for their input on the symposium. Incidentally, I was the only undergrad in attendance, so, of course, he had to seek me out. <div><br /></div><div>Well, I did a <a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=amanda+klunk&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">google search</a> today for my name (if you haven't tried it lately, I urge you to do so, if only because it's fascinating). The first result was something totally new to me, an "on the street" interview. But, what that revealed was the podcast from the symposium with my somewhat-less-than-eloquent remarks and geeking over Lessig. So, check out the recording <a href="http://symposium.tlt.psu.edu/content/on-the-street-interview-with-amanda-klunk">here</a>, if you're so inclined (just follow the link to "Klunk on new media as literature").</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, for the second half of the title. Obama. </div><div>I've never made my affection for Obama a secret. I think he's the best candidate for the job (because, while I agree with some Libertarian principles, I also appreciate free public education and think that the "social welfare" model trumps the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand">Ayn Rand</a> for president" model). So, yeah, I reregistered in PA so that I could vote for him in the primary and, yeah, I support his campaign (and found many interesting views on him while in Ireland). What I really love about him, aside from his ideals and his considerable skill at evading questions, is his ability to really embody exactly what I think of as a president. Case in point, his recent trip to the Middle East. No one will argue that Obama is charismatic, but subtly evoking Kennedy, as this<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/us/politics/23watch.html?bl&ex=1217044800&en=57aeaffb0521f891&ei=5087%0A"> NY Times article</a> suggests, trumps even my highest expectations. Obama is wonderfully restrained without seeming apathetic. He is more or less religion-neutral, but has the high moral standards that I value over religious piety. </div><div>And, to be superficial about it, he looks awesome in front of a sand-colored background (though maybe that's a function of the fact that he, himself, is not sand-colored).</div><div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguk_Ghc6rA_4RYfgzfSVwyENwE2OsC0eP3cvSQnyJCGfl2a_vjyapNYrtw0HFiAnAv5364KjzaIL8nW1byVXkpVSoInQO6-d9Um0GLTTvBC90WKcZT6zRkn2WNitClzsvu1P1d/s320/obama.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226601124182068546" /></div><div><div> </div></div></div>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-77369166905270655992008-07-23T21:39:00.002-05:002008-07-23T22:51:13.726-05:00Community of BenevolenceThis morning I took my future mother-in-law* out to brunch. We had a lovely time talking about my recent trip to Ireland and about her plans for the rest of the week, among other things. In between our pleasant non-conversation, she asked what I expected to pursue as a career in California.** I explained to her that I want to work for adult literacy through the means of a non-profit. Needless to say, she had never even considered that as a career choice and really didn't understand why I would bother to go into such a non-lucrative and unglamorous position.*** I pontificated on the subject: on my passion for solving problems of illiteracy out of a sense of fairness, but also out of simple economic need. Educated people make better decisions; they can protect the environment by knowing how to recycle, they can get better jobs by having desirable skills, they can <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">improve their own lives and enrich the community. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Well, as I was pontificating, the lady at the booth behind us was listening in because, as she was leaving, she excused herself into our conversation to comment on my ambition. She actually thanked me for my career choice. Her husband, she said, is a doctor who recently started his own little philanthropic notion to visit homebound patients. this woman was so excited that "young people actually care" to help others -- she was headed straight home to tell her husband that he can consider himself in good company.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">One of the things that I love about tutoring, that I didn't even think of when I started the work, is the community that forms from the action of teaching another person in a language they understand. There is something so rewarding about finally communicating an idea to someone who couldn't grasp it before. I will never forget (or forgo) the wonderful group of friends that I made while tutoring at Penn State. Now I know there is yet another community -- that formed between people who, while engaging in different occupations, have the goal of helping others. <br /></span></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>*did I mention that I am engaged, as of May 11th?</div><div>**did I mention that I'm moving to Los Angeles in slightly less than one month?</div><div>***she's not as shallow as I make her out to be. she's a wonderful woman with practical concerns... like rent and groceries.</div></div></div>psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-33565138130490325512008-02-29T15:13:00.002-05:002008-02-29T15:14:58.256-05:00playing ketchup.dear neglected audience,<br /><br />i am a terrible blogger. please forgive me.<br />i also have a boring life.<br />sorry!<br />this blog is going on permanent hiatus, as of now -- though i might revive it in the future (or during my trip to Ireland in the summer).<br /><br />loves!<br />--amanda.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-50022270475335517242007-11-02T00:40:00.000-05:002007-11-02T00:50:44.106-05:00am i listening to christmas carols?YES.<br /><br />seasonal anachronism aside, i've been having ultra-crazy-stupidly busy times lately. allow me to provide a briefing.<br /><ul><li>NYCTF position: secured. and possibly more work and i'd really like it to be. though i do have an ambassador colleague, so i'm not all on my own.</li><li>italian class: freakin' tough! but, i did get a B on the last test (not what i'd like, but perfectionism can wait for when i'm rearing my children, right...?) the oral test that's coming up, though.. that should be a "treat."<br />>american novel class: midterm = PWNT. i got a 100% on the midterm and a very complimentary comment on my essay. <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Amanda,</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">You have good control over your prose, so I’d like to see you take more risks with your arguments. Dig a little deeper…on your longer paper I’d like to see you tackle a topic that requires arguments and not just observations. Really interrogate the texts, analyze the passages you choose to quote, and make an original contribution to scholarship. I am hoping you’ll write your longer paper with an eye toward the spring conference I mentioned.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">in-class exam: 10</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">take-home essay: 10</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">midterm: 20/20</span></p></li></ul>(any formatting/font/color issues: blame the prof. also, share in my glory - that test was <span style="font-style: italic;">tough</span>).<br /><ul><li>20th century poetry: currently putting off the last entry for my <span style="font-style: italic;">annotated bibliography </span>(read: HATE exemplified). funny story - one of the article authors <span style="font-style: italic;">changed her name</span> after publishing the article. i emailed her, after tracking down the new name, to make certain that it was actually her article.. otherwise, i just totally lied in my annotations.</li><li>neuroses: relatively under control. i'd really like to see someone about my anxiety, which has been.. leveling out, but at a high level. but, i just don't have the time or resources. ::sigh::</li><li>weekend plans: busy. TAPS all afternoon tomorrow and then to kiamesha's party. then back to load-in on saturday and some library time for listening to a freakin' cassette tape of one of my tutoring sessions. then, more load-in. maybe i can still finish pledging for thespians by the end of this semester? maybe.. ::crosses fingers::</li><li>weather: it's hatefully cold up here. WHY!? i'm freezing. and i loathe it. i need to invest in <a href="http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=11169&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=730&iSubCat=834&iProductID=11169">these.</a> want want want. i actually already have one pair (courtesy of gramma). they are heaven and i want more. i am a glutton for divinity.</li></ul><br />in other news: good night! happy, belated, halloween (and all saints' day) (and 41 months for me and mr. matt). ^_^psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-44692781508150289702007-10-19T00:15:00.000-05:002008-11-18T22:27:20.087-05:00busybusybusy!today has been the busiest day of my whole life. oh - em - gee!<br />let's preface, first. matt decided, in all his awesome sweetness, to visit me tuesday into wednesday. he arrived around 1:30am wednesday morning and was gone in just over 12 hours. in the meantime, we made kissies and a big breakfast and made our ipods makeout. it was pretty good.<br />unfortunately, it meant that i bagged my lab yesterday (well, wednesday) morning and didn't get any homework done for the other two wednesday classes. amy's class - no big deal. english 458 is a challenging class, but our assignment deadlines are flexible and we were doing the same poet (actually, poem) for the second day. no new readings. my film class was another story. i forgot to do the project proposal - the 100 point assignment leading up to our gigando 500 point end-of-semester project. i've decided to do a film about queers on campus. it <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTeNOfg7V6_6Z1-9EXsIqWNHYl0UHqSri2lOp-CWZ4LQzPIw4hweyZTAKbHhwHJ_vJo6YrEUq1NTX3Z2qUMweZZ26n5rxhwSC884nTVsmULcpZThYSfQsoNQFVQ9cEaHRYYwR/s1600-h/464px-Alfred_Hitchcock_NYWTS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTeNOfg7V6_6Z1-9EXsIqWNHYl0UHqSri2lOp-CWZ4LQzPIw4hweyZTAKbHhwHJ_vJo6YrEUq1NTX3Z2qUMweZZ26n5rxhwSC884nTVsmULcpZThYSfQsoNQFVQ9cEaHRYYwR/s320/464px-Alfred_Hitchcock_NYWTS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122919239445496146" border="0" /></a>should be pretty sweet, but i only decided that.. late last night? i talked to the instructor and she gave me a deadline extension for the proposal. i spent all day today thinking about it (while ignoring class) and much of the previous night thinking of awesome shots to use. i'm pretty psyched. ^_^ you can check out the proposal on my dork-blog <a href="http://amandaklunk.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br />today, i was incredibly productive. not only did i make up that lab and finish the proposal, but i also had a second phone interview for the NYCTF college ambassador position (refer to the same dork-blog for my application to that) and <a href="http://www.nycteachingfellows.org/">this site</a> for more info about the program. it's a pretty awesome program and i hope that i can be their ambassador.. and not just for the dollars. mm, dollars. in any case, the basic premise of the program is that new york needs more public school teachers, so they've set up a teach-for-america style alternative-certification program that takes non-education majors and makes them worthwhile. with stipends. my job, should i get it, would be to hype it up at penn state and meet some recruitment goals. sounds pretty awesome and i look forward to promoting a program that i can really get behind.<br />aside from lab and the interview, i managed to attend an LAUC meeting for the first time, attended a Ralph Ellison symposium (which was fairly good, but a bit dull because it focused on biographical content more than literary work), and finally made my <a href="http://lionschedules.com/xaeeou">spring semester</a> actual. i emailed sanford schwartz about adding his already-full <a href="http://www.hitchcock.tv/">hitchcock</a> course and he said i could do it and i'm ridiculously, run-on excited. extra good news: the thursday class will be shared with graduate students.. the discussion should run extra awesome. huzzah!<br />i did some other exhausting stuff today, too. but, i don't feel like talking about it. i also, literally, collapsed upon arriving back in my room. i sprawled across the bed (i didn't say that i have lousy aim in collapsing) and drooled on the covers for half an hour before i could even move again. it was a <i>very</i> long day.<br /><br />tomorrow should be a little easier. even though i have an italian vocab quiz for which i am *not* prepared, i should be able to just take things a little slower. and then go to the drag show. yayayayayay! anita and i are going to go in drag. break out the chest wraps, we're dressing up! also, tomorrow starts the national conference on peer tutoring in the writing center (or something to that effect). i'm moderating two panels on saturday after doing a practice GRE. wish me luck!<br /><br />hope everyone's having a great semester thus far -- luck with midterms!psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-42235694529772349552007-10-01T00:35:00.000-05:002008-11-18T22:27:20.660-05:00bentoooo!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4teOS8tVUjVxbYx4CDV6-KM3TeK03r6vIzfPorw_7oYHD9JuagtG_uLOaSgOquTe04FwdAFGD4nSc5P7WKuT1sNkR0IFQY06a3ACwBiyiaKiJDe7l9OBC_1brr1xjjbLF1qC/s1600-h/bento1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4teOS8tVUjVxbYx4CDV6-KM3TeK03r6vIzfPorw_7oYHD9JuagtG_uLOaSgOquTe04FwdAFGD4nSc5P7WKuT1sNkR0IFQY06a3ACwBiyiaKiJDe7l9OBC_1brr1xjjbLF1qC/s320/bento1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116238586501859266" border="0" /></a><br />i forgot to mention: i've been heartily enjoying cooking lately.<br />having my own kitchen has really brought out my desire to have a good time in it. now i make wonderful dinners (that i usually don't eat for some weird reason) and adorable lunches. the lunches, of course, are strongly aided in cuteness-factor by my two new bento boxes and by some ideas that i've picked up from <a href="http://www.cookingcute.com/gallery/gallery_010307.htm">cooking cute</a> (a very helpful bento site) an<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7nZuhkg2fa2rRUX8ob1yCVHn0kzHMjm9XPmmmGyWeMQVATt2xPp5l_ouG1DmxRaXmJjgz_SxwHDeuf2sDGAdKkSdBuqVn3UcUdSwA0L4iNyEiGCKUEZpklLJBqJgu-MlX_84/s1600-h/hellokitty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7nZuhkg2fa2rRUX8ob1yCVHn0kzHMjm9XPmmmGyWeMQVATt2xPp5l_ouG1DmxRaXmJjgz_SxwHDeuf2sDGAdKkSdBuqVn3UcUdSwA0L4iNyEiGCKUEZpklLJBqJgu-MlX_84/s320/hellokitty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116238698171008978" border="0" /></a>d other <a href="http://www.e-obento.com/mainichi-Frame-set.htm">sites</a>.<br />there's nothing not wonderful about cookie-cuttered sandwiches and precious little portions of rice, edamame and carrots. i even bought some delicious organic baby carrots and baby peppers at the farmers' market. yay: healthy for me and the environment! it's really fun to make my lunch, which would normally be a pretty bland affair of leftovers in an awkwardly large insulated lunchbox, into something cute and pleasant. i now take even the simplest things, like a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich, and make it cute by using mini cookie cutters (anita had some spring them<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdnvMPUk0NBrtTAGoL3C_tVhw7cCmN0bmDA9kp69a-6rXaClqtzgs5EqQvih5HGvYP9W1j_qf3W8h4_vNIAD5fsybnI04ZGyv1A66d8fwS3ZZyJjkWPNwXzmZdcii6tIHtNNb/s1600-h/bento2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdnvMPUk0NBrtTAGoL3C_tVhw7cCmN0bmDA9kp69a-6rXaClqtzgs5EqQvih5HGvYP9W1j_qf3W8h4_vNIAD5fsybnI04ZGyv1A66d8fwS3ZZyJjkWPNwXzmZdcii6tIHtNNb/s320/bento2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116240781230147586" border="0" /></a>ed ones and i got some autumn themed ones at wal-mart for only $1.76 for a pack of six). the resulting sandwich maintains all the good parts and only leaves off the crusts, if i'm careful. any leftover pieces i just eat while i'm preparing the meal, so i don't waste anything.<br />the bento box also encourages me to eat healthier. it's so easy and cute to pack some fresh rice and edamame into the container that vacuum seals itself (the heat sucks the lid down), i do that more often than pack unhealthy, exhausting leftovers. or spending money buying lunch at the HUB or someplace downtown.<br />access to the farmers' market has also encouraged me to eat in an overall healthy way: i buy produce that's locally grown using, at least relatively, sustainable methods ... i basically just go and pick out what looks most appealing. i got a zucchini roughly the size of my calf -- we're making zucchini cake (a variation on carrot cake) with it, if we ever get around to it. otherwise, we'll probably just freeze some and make stir-fry and other things with it.<br />so, yeah, i'm settling in nicely to the whole "i have a place called home" thing. it's temporary, but it'll do for now. and then i'll have a real home.. based, hopefully, on love. and hopefully in l.a.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-50191134031499772442007-09-30T22:43:00.000-05:002008-11-18T22:27:21.268-05:00quick update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTKILWd3eol7krsmZSe9qgEZ7jeJI2-rJLeN7LmOZQur194d30YPIjOAXfvcUXNfuBun31noOWkMd8slpycITIQTWfHdXfZ6COshJasjrf36Wpzv1A2XAAk15hvv9AQ8a4_7Y/s1600-h/cds_posters_saltimbanco.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTKILWd3eol7krsmZSe9qgEZ7jeJI2-rJLeN7LmOZQur194d30YPIjOAXfvcUXNfuBun31noOWkMd8slpycITIQTWfHdXfZ6COshJasjrf36Wpzv1A2XAAk15hvv9AQ8a4_7Y/s320/cds_posters_saltimbanco.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116209088666470290" border="0" /></a><br />so, i've been out of the blogging habit for a while now. my sincerest.<br /><br />not really in the mood for updating, but i feel bound to do so, so let me give a (very) brief summary of my weekend with matt.<br /><br />he arrived late thursday and we snuggled and fell asleep after watching half of "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/">children of men</a>" which is interesting, but i'm willing to bet the book is better. it's got great cinematography (matt says it's very polish), but that's about all that it's got going for it. combining lousy dialogue with flat characters and mediocre acting doesn't create good cinema. *frown* we eventually finished the movie. good ending. pleasantly ambiguous.<br /><br />friday came pleasantly enough. i only had two classes while matt hung out in panera playing with his compy and/or reading "<a href="http://www.free-culture.cc/">free culture</a>." i don't know how keen i am to read that -- seeing as i am certain it will only upset me. we left campus.<br />we returned to campus to feast at the corner room (yum!) and then to proceed to "synergy" the talent show sponsored by the thespians. the acts were all very good and it put us into a great mood to go see cirque du soleil on saturday. (!!!).<br />we retired, after the show, to the diner for some delicious stickies. (round one of ice cream for the weekend).<br /><br />saturday we bagged the game (sorry, al!) and slept in and hung out with anita and returned my <a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_15/601-1387167-4961765?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000MFJOHS">rainboots</a> (too big!) to target. soon after, we headed off to see the most amazing human spectacle i've ever seen: cirque du soleil's <span style="font-style: italic;">saltimbanco</span>. it was ... well, spectacular. the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPZxLi6SLb-Euye2rlaWaA7b9gI1owTo5RhIHhvRTQvL0czbvYWe3nhs5sunmwyjACxH1WnNNEv12Aog3rL7EL3kRTR09j-xqwZek4Ap1dl54HMkbulWhkuoncB8jsgutMGra/s1600-h/4-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPZxLi6SLb-Euye2rlaWaA7b9gI1owTo5RhIHhvRTQvL0czbvYWe3nhs5sunmwyjACxH1WnNNEv12Aog3rL7EL3kRTR09j-xqwZek4Ap1dl54HMkbulWhkuoncB8jsgutMGra/s320/4-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116209200335620002" border="0" /></a>stunts were amazing, but the beauty was really what took me - they were meticulous in their work: even the shadows were breath-taking. there was a perfect mixture of fun/foolish clowning (all in good taste and pleasant, but not over the top), brilliant acrobatics, and sensuous/rhythmic pairs of acrobats. this is the kind of circus i can get behind - where i know there aren't unhappy elephants and lead-poisoned clowns behind my pleasure (clown make-up used to be made with a lead base).<br /><br />after the show, we had a lovely time picking up anita and trekking around downtown state college to find a reasonably priced dinner that would not take forever to wait for -- with hour waits at green bowl (which is <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> reasonably priced except on weekdays for lunch) and rotelli (which also has better deals for weekday lunches). we ended up "settling" for pitas at the pita pit. they were <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt90FKjd5MauFs3xZbRrsL6dJvIvxhOAZ0gKaJaf0qqH48QWnCA1OtZ-ipwLx7cBfrS5OY1xv4B1lqzDZlcgNS4A1PQpWQvyw8F4U5SAG_pRRgqm1dr5-jJ-b8MyoLag4Fqx1/s1600-h/cirque.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt90FKjd5MauFs3xZbRrsL6dJvIvxhOAZ0gKaJaf0qqH48QWnCA1OtZ-ipwLx7cBfrS5OY1xv4B1lqzDZlcgNS4A1PQpWQvyw8F4U5SAG_pRRgqm1dr5-jJ-b8MyoLag4Fqx1/s320/cirque.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116209492393396146" border="0" /></a>amazing! go, eat their food. pay them your monies. the pitas are gigantic (screw you, tiny pitas from the supermarket) and stuffed full of delicious things. fresh meat and/or veggies and tons of toppings to choose from make this a pretty healthy, but also hearty meal. with a reasonable price, too. about $5-6/person for being totally full at the end. good deal. then we took matt for his first experience of the creamery. we were very impressed with the sandusky blitz (banana ice cream and other goodies) and the pumpkin pie flavor. the palmer mousseum was also delisch, but i preferred the pie. later we had even more food, courtesy of anita: vegetable fried rice (delicious, easy and cheap!) and miso soup (equally easy and relatively cheap, but not so yummy -- our tofu was gross. nasoya = lose).<br /> this morning, we got up pleasantly late and went over to the waffle shop on atherton for some absolutely fabulous breakfast. i had iowa corn pancakes.. i will never be able to look at a plain 'ol wheat pancake the same again. i am a changed person. the meals were delicious and as reasonable as the pita pit. go there. eat their food. but, bring cash 'cause they don't take credit or debit and their atm (suckers!) has a $2 fee/transaction. suck.<br /><br />after gorging ourselves on breakfast food and kisses, matt finally left to go home around 1pm. i miss him already. 'cause i'm a wimp.<br />i have spent the rest of the day doing homework and doing meetings and boring stuff. this has been a simply wonderful meeting and i am so happy and full of lovey-doviness for matt because he made it all possible - he bought the tickets and paid for the delicious meals and just general helped me recover from remaining malaise of sickness and sympathized with my pulled foot muscle. he even put up with me talking about moving in with him next summer after i graduate. what a sweet, patient, tolerant baby! ::loveysnugglysappybullshit::<br /><br />so, yeah. great weekend. and now it's october. yay! yay autumn and yay classes still not sucking too badly!psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-62341610008399464352007-06-25T19:35:00.000-05:002007-06-25T20:03:34.295-05:00brief updatei've been very lazy about updating lately -- please accept my apologies.<br /><br />plans have changed a lot since the last posting, some for fun, some for suck.<br />allow me to explain: instead of visiting doug and jaclyn, matt went to see his dad (a much needed and helpful to the healing process visit) in california while i stayed home and cleaned the bejeesus out of my room. it's still in progress, but coming along nicely. one of the major accomplishments for my room is convincing gramma that she won't miss them if i sell her enormous masses of barbies (that live in my room, of course). i posted them on <a href="http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/clt/355152668.html">craigslist </a>and hope to get a reasonably good price for all of them. (buy them. pleeeasse!) <br /><br />speaking of gramma: she's back in the hospital. she's.. not doing that great, i think. her body is starting to shut down from the relative inefficiency of dialysis (vs. actual kidney function). the remainder of her organs are starting to deteriorate. ::sigh:: i never want her to go, you know.. but i hate for her to be in pain. i feel about gramma similar to the way i felt about dad: that maybe it's better for her just to go quietly before the pain progresses anymore. obviously gramma's situation is slightly different, but.. the similarities are striking. i really don't want to have to deal with another death before this year is over. it's completely selfish of me, i know, but it's been such a hard year with gramma stephanie (dad's mother) dying in january and then dad going and so much stress about matt's dad being sick. <br /><br />on a brighter note, matt and i spent a wonderful weekend in atlantic city. we gambled a bit (spent $5 and won $10) as well as hit the beach (sea isle city). i'm sure a picture post will come soon. ^_^ we had a great time hanging out with aunt tressa and her fiance, p.j., as well as my cool cousins gianna and connor. these cousins are the younger siblings of my cousin micheal who just recently left for coast guard basic training (see <a href="http://lightupmyroom.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-normal-approach.html">previous post</a> for slightly more details). one of the big highlights of this trip, though, was p.j.'s mother who lives with aunt tressa. this lovely woman, judy, is a shopaholic. thing is, she never uses her purchases so, instead of just letting them sit there helping noone, judy gives away her purchases as loving gifts. i, of course, made out like a bandit when i showed an interest in knitting and handbags. i came away not only with some lovely hand lotions, but also with a very nice <a href="http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?colorid=10&sku=115%3a10&">vera bradley bag</a> filled to the brim with about a million of all the knitting needles i'll need for the rest of my life. DPN's from size 0 - 10 along with adjustable size circular needles as well as a whole set of straight needles should keep me well stocked for a very very long time. i am so impressed with her generosity and the value of the things she gave me. gifts she's made to someone she has known for only a few days ... easy equal around $200. <br /><br />so, an overall success, the trip to atlantic city was marked by a little tension, but a lot of fun (and great tans). we definitely hope to do it again in the near future. this weekend, though, holds all the fun and excitement of going to my grampa's wedding (what wedding gift do you give to two old people? all suggestions are incredibly welcome) and just generalized hanging out. also perhaps some <a href="http://www.nielsenmassey.com/recipe52.htm">very vanilla tiramisu kahlua cupcakes</a>..? we'll see. <br />i miss everyone very much. ::hugs everyone:: please call! or write! facebook?psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-64787526355284093782007-06-11T08:48:00.000-05:002007-06-11T10:59:21.031-05:00"ready, steady, go"in the roughly two weeks since i last updated, a lot has been going on.<br />not only have matt and i passed the official three year mark, but we also celebrated my 20th birthday. yay!<br />we spent our anniversary with a quiet evening at home dining upon roughly the same meal we've shared for the past two anniversaries: homemade pasta sauce served over spaghetti and accompanied by a delicious salad and yummy bread. we had some awesome coffee over ice cream (a la "white") and exchanged gifts. he, very sweetly, gave me a beautiful pair of earrings (dangly and shiny and picture forthcoming if i'm properly reminded) and a copy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Solomon"><em></em>song of songs<em></em>, </a>everyone's favorite epic, biblical love poem. he's so sweet. i gave him a copy of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/">"the fountain"</a> which we later watched and loved as much as the first (and second) time(s).<br />the day after, we went over to the pauls' house for some wonderful partying complete with great food and even better times with friends (even making some new ones in the process). it was great to be able to see doug and jaclyn again and i can't wait until we go down to visit them this weekend. *squeal*<br />oh, man.. i had a great birthday. matt was very sweet and gave me a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_img/104-2826482-7388721">"zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" </a> which i very much look forward to reading. anita, of course, came through with an amazing gift: a chicken! just what a wanted!! it's not the living, breathing, torture-worthy creature i was hoping for, but i think ceramic will do just fine. it will also be a great addition to our apartment kitchen.. maybe holding teabags? she also gave me a really pretty pillow with a matching throw -- excellent additions to the couch, i suppose. the presents were rounded off with a hand-me-down (pretty pink 4gb) ipod courtesy of my mother and <em></em>fabulous<em></em> headphones thanks to curtis. yay for sweatproof!<br />we had a great dinner at cheeburger cheeburger and spent the rest of the evening catching up on "house" and conversation. i'm glad my friends are so laid-back. it's nice to be able to just chill at someone's house and pet kitties while watching the tube. <br /><br />right now, though, i'm at work. i'm only here for another 2 hours or so and i've only dealt with ..maybe 10 customers? it's pretty slow here, but that means that i get to make friends with blogger, <a href="http://www.digg.com/">digg</a>, and <a href="http://www.questionablecontent.net/">many </a><a href="http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/">webcomics </a><a href="http://www.somethingpositive.net/">that </a><a href="http://www.dominic-deegan.com/">i </a><a href="http://www.xkcd.com/">lurve</a>. <br /><br />in upcoming events: <br /> -- dinner tonight with aunt penni?<br /> -- visit doug and jaclyn this weekend(!)<br /> -- grampa's <em></em>wedding<em></em> june 30th (!!)<br /> -- and some other stuff in between. <br /><br />this summer, though it's had its very rough moments (like matt's dad's hospital stay about which we're still praying), is getting off to a pretty good start. hope everyone else is enjoying.psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34768856.post-80429049170716161162007-05-29T12:55:00.000-05:002007-05-29T13:08:14.817-05:00i am not 5'3"i finally got a real id card. not a driver's license, mind you, just an id, but now i can actually positively identify myself without looking like a creeper or a schmuck. ^_^ the card, lying little thing that it is, says that i am five three.. now, we all know that i am not that tall. or that matt is that short: it says he is five three, as well. *grin* i guess they just don't care that much. ::shrug::<br />also, i got back my grades from last semester (well, a little while ago, now). a's in all my english courses (yessss!) and a b in italian. i'm pretty disappointed about that b, but i know i'll be able to bring it up in the fall. it was a really hard semester and i'm still pretty displeased with the professor. in any case, though, i am pretty excited about upcoming semester. tons of fun/difficult english courses (three: one is peer editing, one is 20th c. american poetry, and the other is american modernist writing). these will all be pretty tough courses, i think, but i'm really looking forward to them. you can look at my schedule <a href="http://www.lionschedules.com/soawie">here</a>. <br /><br />once again, i'm making this update while at work. it's pretty dull since i haven't done enough training to actually handle money. seeing as this is a bank and money is all you can really do here.. well, there's nothing except dull regulations and uninteresting documentation for me to work with. blugh.<br /><br />so, because i need to get more dull reading done, i'll leave off here. hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend!<br /><br />p.s. our three year anniversary is this friday. congratulate us! <br />p.p.s. my birthday is next monday. bring me presents!psuklinkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805808687294874819noreply@blogger.com0