Alaska, Long Beach

Card Catalogue

Make your own here.

Cheers!

Breakfast & Cars

So here is today's little breakfast set up [bad lighting, poor picture quality & all] which includes fresh spelt muffins from The Vegan Lunch Box [so freaking easy and yum!], with Earth Balance and jam, coffee and my one sewing project, the french press cozy. 

There will be no close up shots of it, for obvious reasons, but it fits & does its job & I am awfully proud of myself.  The outside is linen with dark blue cotton lining, off-white binding & organic cotton batting [the package says organic cotton but I think they mean "organic" as unbleached and not "chemical free".  There are no fabric certifications, are there?].  Is there a Sew Green answer to this?

Also my car is officially totaled and I have 5 days to buy a new car [well 5 days of rental car coverage] and I am looking at Subarus, Volkswagens and Jeeps.  Any recommendations?  Warnings?  I am trying to weigh my green options with the miles I drive, about 374.58 a week [that is just from home to work to school & home again- doesn't include any "fun" driving!] which comes to 1,498.32 miles a month.  Seriously, I "mapquested" all my routes and even though I feel it, it still shocks me.  Somewhere I read that the average American drives 15,000 per year, and my average is about 3,000 over that.  This is a lot of car time and I need to seriously think about reliability, gas mileage, and safety [I got hit really hard and had I a smaller, lower car I would have been seriously injured].  There is currently 1 biodesiel station in LA [none in Orange County] and it is way out of my way.  I could still buy diesel, but I need to make sure it is practical for all my driving.  I am worried about hybrids because I hear the battery can run $6,000 if it needs replacement, plus I need a larger car and those are crazy expensive [$25,000- $50,000 as quoted online, but I bet they are more expensive here is CA].

So I have 5 days to figure this out. 

Cheers all!

Sew Excited

In an email Shash mentioned the possibility of giving up the "Sew" puns to which Lisa responded that she hopes the puns never end.  And sew they continue.

This is me peeking out to say hello.  There is a completely unintentional image of a floating chicken on the wall behind me; things like that happen when you work in an arts space.  I need new glasses sew I made an appointment with a new optometrist next week and actually googled him to see any reviews or warnings and I found some quite charming comments. 

I love all the press Sew Green has gotten in the few days since it debuted.  I know we will exceed all expectations, but after this review I am feeling a bit of the pressure.  [Thanks Tracy for the link.]

***Forgot to mention that I did not get to meet mr. Ira Glass, but I had a wonderful time seeing This American Life on stage.  Freaking hilarious and they showed clips from the upcoming This American Life TV show [must get Showtime!].  The radio show airs Saturday and you can listen to it free from the site, or download free from iTunes.  The episode is called, "What I Learned from TV".

Cheers!

Artichoke & Balance

I am sitting in a class on budgeting for grant proposals and have tuned out long enough to move money around in my bank accounts, send several emails, update contacts into my new phone, and now to post.  I am terribly productive in class when gossip websites, games, and car sites [my car is all but officially totaled and I need to buy a new one] are blocked out by the school's firewall.  Right as I was leaving work for class, I ran to the bathroom and managed to all but throw my phone directly in the toilet.  I didn't want to be driving without a phone so I ran into a mobile phone store and shelled out an unreasonable amount of money for a cheap & ugly little phone.  Ok it is not so bad, but I really liked my old phone.  So I have no one's numbers and... ok enough whining.  I just need a little perspective to feel better.  And a little comfort food.

I am posting a picture of my favourite comfort food and my favourite food overall.  Boiled artichokes and melted Earth Balance.  I just look at it and feel a little better.  I have been scolded for my artichoke cooking because I liked them over-boiled until they are practically mush and I don't grill them.  I love to make this, curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and watch a great movie. 

Here is my recipe for Hayley's Over-Boiled Artichokes & Earth Balance:

1. Wash several artichokes & cut off the stems near the base
2. I like to leave the tips on
3. Put artichokes in a large pot
4. Fill with water to cover
5. Boil until you can easily pierce the base with a fork
6. About 30+ minutes, the leaves should be falling off
7. I guess if you have a microwave melt a big bowl of Earth Balance
8. I put it in my in the toaster oven to melt because I don't have a microwave
9. Strain the artichokes, put on plate and enjoy!

Cheers all!

So Very Green

So I have been working on a little side project which debuts today.  It is a collaborative website between bloggers who want to live & learn more green.  This documents our research and efforts in a way which will be accessible and interesting [we hope].  While I am sure that most the people who read my blog are involved in the project [hi guys!], if this is news to you, head over to SEW GREEN and read all about us.

In other news I actually sewed.  On my own.  And even made something on my own pattern.  I know, wow.  If I get around to photographing it I will share in an upcoming post. 

Also tonight I am fulfilling one of my life goals [attainable] which is to see This American Life live on stage and I am hoping to fulfill another life goal and meet mr. Ira Glass [unattainable I'm sure, but oh so hopeful]. 

Cheers all!

That being said.

I am not even going to look back and see when I last posted.  Too long.  This has been a relatively tough week [one of my classmates is a Sudanese refugee and after hearing his story I have very little pity for myself].  That being said...

Here is a cute picture of my fish Champion, who is not doing so well.  I finished an antibiotic treatment on him, and it didn't seem to take away his infection.  That means that it may be more serious and I am worried.   I have had him over a year and this is the first illness he has had.  Poor guy.  You can see him peeking out from behind the plant.

I was also in a bit of a car wreck last week.  My car is still somewhere being evaluated to see if it should be repaired or totaled.  Since this is the second time my car has been in a major accident [the first time my parked car was smashed by a drunk driver, and I was nowhere near the car] and I don't know if I want it repaired or to just buy a new one [sooo stressful!].  I have had my Jeep for 7 years, 110,000 miles and I can't imagine owning another car.  But at least I have a fancy rental car that is completely keyless.  Yes, it even starts with a button.  Weird. 

And last night I finally watched Hotel Rwanda [it has been sitting on my coffee table for several months now but I couldn't bring myself to watch it].  I cried through the entire movie.  Not just watery eyes, but full on sobs.  I remember the conflict well, but I don't think I ever heard that the two conflicting races were invented by the Belgians.  And that brings me right back around to Sudan.  I know people are always reminding others about what is happening NOW in Darfur.  But it is true and happening now.  Be involved.  There is a Jewish saying that no one is free is one person is oppressed.  It made me think of this old poem that I remember hanging on the wall in my high school social studies class:

First they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left
to speak up for me.

Common American and English poster version

Cheers all to a good week!