Meeting my sweet baby nephew

Nancy brought Evan to California. Needless to say, I loved him.

It's World Water Week!

Water use it wisely and drink lot's of it too.

Time Exchange

I keep hearing more & more about Long Beach Time Exchange & found that Time Banking, exchanging skills & services for Time Dollars, has been a model with roots back to 1980. 

The concept is simple: One hour equals one time dollar, regardless of the service given, so there’s really no bartering involved. From dog-walking to graphic design, community organizing to tutoring, cooking lessons to massage therapy, everyone’s time is valued equally.  When someone helps you, they earn a credit that they can spend with any other member on any of the services in the network. It’s a powerful idea that helps to grow stronger communities.

Sounds like a good idea to me.  As someone who has thoroughly enjoyed the service of volunteer work, the idea of having time dollars credited to me would make the experience even more rewarding. 

Links: 

Long Beach Time Exchange

Time Banks USA
Time Dollars

Spectacular Design

Ron Arad's Curtain Call

Denver

Three day weekend + the mile high city + two of my favorites = Good times

Talking Heads appreciate civil servants!

Talking Heads: Don't Worry About The Government from Spencer M. Rohan on Vimeo.

Happy Independence Day!

Dottie

The other day while walking home I spotted Dottie working in her yard.  I said hi and told her I had always admired her yard. 

She invited me for a tour of the rest, so impressive… she has tomatoes, Japanese cucumber, Australian beans, raspberries, blackberries, a huge grape vine, orange tree, fig tree, pineapples, carrots, beets, potatoes, passion fruit, every herb you can think of, Myer lemons, chard, artichokes, brussels sprouts and more.  She has lived in the house 78 years, in addition to gardening she is a mechanic and handywoman, ocean enthusiast, and motorcycle lover.  She regularly cans and pickles her abundant produce. 

I’m sharing a few pics snapped with my phone while I was there… she didn’t want to be photographed, but I have to tell you she was very fit and had the most adorable white hair. 

I hope we become friends!  

Smart Travel

How cool!  VIA Rail Canada is cyclists friendly:   

“Whether you’re a Sunday biker or a professional cyclist, taking your bike on board with VIA Rail allows you to discover all the culture, history and authenticity of these regions from a whole new perspective,” said Steve Del Bosco, VIA’s Chief Marketing and Sales Officer.  “When you take the train and your bike not only are you helping to reduce our carbon footprint, you can relax and have fun getting there too.”  www.viarail.ca

Unfortunately, Amtrak doesn’t make it as easy but it’s still possible.

What a great way to plan a summer holiday! 

I use to take my bicycle on the train in Melbourne but it wasn’t exactly encouraged… in Tempe the light rail has vertical bike racks that get the bikes out of the way but require some serious upper body strength to use. 

Whether for daily commutes or exploring bike/train/bike is a great to way travel.  Happy Summer!

Yogi

The practice of yoga is an art & science dedicated to creating union between body, mind & spirit. The Eight-Limb Path of Yoga does a good job illustrating the aspects of yoga that can be used not just for exercise but also as guidelines for conscious living.  There is no order or hierarchy of theses elements, we are all unique individuals & can emphasize one branch & then move on to another as suits.

We have all heard before that it’s not what happens that matters but how you react to it. Implementing these philosophies may help you to react in the way that is best for your life.  

Yoga can be a complement to any religion & can be used to strengthen existing believes.  Even if the thought of joining a yoga class & practicing postures is not for you maybe you can take the time to contemplate some of the guidelines & use them for your own path in life. 

Radical

Man Meets Whale - Sea Movies from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

Beautiful and Inspiring Art + Engineering

I can't wait to see one in person!

At sea... or just at harbor.

Since I have been living near the ocean I have been enjoying it thoroughly by bicycling, running, and doing yoga near it, surfing and swimming in it.  One thing I had not had the chance to do was to take a boat out on it.  Well, I got my chance twice in the last week!  First on a sailboat and then on a duffy, both times I got to take my turn as captain!

Hydraulic Fracturing, boo.

Natural Gas, it sounds like a great energy alternative but in reality it’s just another nonrenewable resource.  Processing natural gas for use is quite labor and resource intensive but the extraction of natural gas is what is most alarming.

Many times natural gas is mined through a process called hydrofracking (fracking, hydraulic fracturing) it can be a dangerous and destructive process.   Hydrofracking requires the use of nearly 600 chemicals (many of them toxic) that can leach into our drinking water, produces hazardous wastewater which can contain radioactive substances and toxic chemicals, depletes local water supplies, and may result in dangerous explosions.

This documentary, Gasland, shows the dangers of Hydraulic Fracturing.

If this is bumming you out.  Please take a minute to visit this site:

Save Our Environment

You can quickly send a letter requesting that a misleading Exxon Mobil ad be taken off the air before it further distorts the public debate around hydrofracking. 

Do what you can to support RENEWABLE energy resources! Thanks. 


Check out this related article: Mark Ruffalo wants you to stand up against hydrofracking

A super fantastic week.

Just in case...

Hydroponics

It seems to me that hyroponic gardening can be as low-tech or high-tech as you wish.  I have had great success growing green onions and mint in some old shot glasses. Sometimes I start mint here and then plant it in the garden... or just pinch leaves off as needed.   The only upkeep is changing the water and rinsing the roots every few days. The green onions are really fun because they grow really fast... It's great to just use sissors to snip fresh green onions when needed.  You can get about three regrown sprigs from your store bought green onions before it's best to start over.

I recently spotted a classy way of doing a similiar thing online: 

Image and more information on grow bottles can be found here: http://inhabitat.com/grow-your-own-hydroponic-garden-with-the-growbottle/

RarelyWrongErin: Fall & Winter

Reposting this from my friend Erin's Blog.

RarelyWrongErin: "You may recall that I told you about the amazing film, Fall & Winter, that my amazing friends are making... Here's the new trailer."

Companion Planting

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity, on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

With this idea in mind I have planted garlic chives around my tomatoes and borage with my strawberries.  I just learned about the "three sisters" apparently the "three sisters" are the old ladies of companion planting.  I am also growing corn and plan to attempt a pole bean growing up the stock so I was almost there.

More info and image taken from here: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html