Category: Green Issues

Lions, and Bobcats, and Bears, Oh My!

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When I’m not obsessing over my decorating plans for the new house, I’m obsessing over mountain lions because…well…we got ’em. In case you haven’t heard the exciting/depressing news out of Connecticut, here’s a little synopsis: People in Greenwich reported seeing a Mountain Lion and eventually managed to get pictures and a big kitty stool sample to prove they weren’t mistaking bobcats or the neighbor’s golden retriever for a Cougar. Then, a few days after it was confirmed that there was, in fact, a mountain lion stalking the wealthy people of Greenwich, one was hit by a car on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford (really pretty far from Greenwich).

Can you imagine looking out your window and seeing this?

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Green Design = Cheap Design

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I haven’t been a good blogger lately. I am completely and utterly preoccupied. This house buying thing has completely taken over my brain. More accurately, decorating the house has taken over my brain…even though I’ve got another month before I can even move in. Part of the problem is that I’ve decided to use as much secondhand stuff as possible.

I’m doing this partly for budgetary reasons. When you’re going from a tiny apartment to a grown-up house, there are a lot of things to buy. When you’ve just ponied up a giant chunk of change for a down payment and closing costs, it’s hard to justify spending thousands more on new dining furniture or a guest bedroom set. So, it makes sense to put in the man hours to track down good deals on good used furniture. But I’ve also got green motivations. Continue reading →

Mismatched

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I am obsessed.

I’ve got a bookmark folder filled with links to couches, tables, lamps, curtains, paint colors, and so much more. I’ve been scouring Craigslist and getting annoyed when I find a great table, and realize I have no where to put it. Why am I doing this to myself? Well, because before I started this decorating safari, I was on a house hunt. I think I’ve found my house — but it happens to be under renovation by some family friends and is months away from being habitable. So, I wait…and torture myself. Continue reading →

The Sickness

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I am, perhaps, genetically predisposed to distrusting the medical profession. If you shake my family tree more than one person will fall out of the paternal side who does and takes some “strange” things in the name of alternative medicine. So, it’s not a surprise that, as I grow older, I look at doctors more skeptically and look at my refrigerator more closely.

I try and steer clear of prescription medications unless I’ve got poison ivy in my eye, or am coming down with something a day before I leave for vacation. Then, today, as I was put off going out to the garden with a bag of kitchen scraps in the freezing cold, I decided to watch Food Matters.

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A Good Way to Ruin a Saturday

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I made the mistake of finally watching The Cove today.

I say “mistake” because it’s the kind of movie that leaves you feeling helpless, and full of despair. When you watch a movie like Food, Inc. at least you can change the way you eat and feel like you’re doing a small part. But if you don’t eat dolphin meat or visit dolphinariums, what is the average person supposed to do after watching a film like The Cove? Donate money, I guess. But before I do that, I’ve got to write about it.

It’s easy to romanticize dolphins (or whales, for that matter). They save lives, learn complicated sign-language, and are majestically beautiful. Dolphins, though, are part of a food chain like the rest of us. Most of the time, they’re at the top of that chain. But animals eat other animals and that’s the way it is. Orcas have been known to attack and eat baby blue whales during migration, and it’s hard to watch but it’s part of survival. Dolphins have even been known to kill other dolphins–though not for food. Continue reading →

Sell Your Stuff! Buy a Tiny House!

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bpf_original_playhouse-exterior_cover-horizontal_h-jpg-rend-hgtvcom-616-462I admit it. I’m a bad blogger… at least in my personal life. Between the full-time job, freelance assignments, and my side-projects it can be hard to muster up the energy (or subject matter) to post here regularly. But I can usually count on NPR to give me a little kick in the writing pants. This time it came in the form on “Tiny Houses.”

I have been on a “Stuff Boycott” for almost a year now. Basically, I have begged and pleaded with my friends and family not to give me what I refer to as “crap.” This includes but is not limited to: candles, books I won’t read, and knick-knacks. I have torn through my closet and dressers. I’ve gotten rid of clothing, old dishes, an arm chair and more stuff I just didn’t need. There are people all over CT getting use out of my old junk.  Continue reading →

Can the Canned Sauce

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Despite the blight I have got a ton of tomatoes; they aren’t mine, but I’ve got them. The other day my mom was at work and her farmer friend came in and said, “I have a few tomatoes for your daughter. I put them in your car.” She went out at the end of the day to find about 3 baskets of red, juicy tomatoes piled in her backseat.

The farmer probably doesn’t know this, but he’s basically saving my life. I’m convinced that if you ingest enough tomatoes, blueberries, and green tea that you’ll live to a ripe old age with vitality. The problem is, so many of these things are…well…gross come mid-winter. Fruit and veggies getting shipped across the country to Connecticut in January are less than appetizing, so one of the ways I combat this is by making tons of tomato sauce with the over abundance at the end of summer. This year, though, I’ve barely had enough tomatoes to make a single pot. Continue reading →

Moving on up!

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I am a restless soul…and therefore, I move a lot. I don’t always move far; I just like a change of scenery once in awhile. The problem with moving, though, is packing. It is just awful!

I’d love to be one of those people who can fit everything they own in their car (though I have to wonder where those people sleep…or even sit) but I’m just not. During the course of packing I’ve come up with three boxes, and a bag of stuff to donate. Once I’m on the other end of the move, I’ll probably get so frustrated by the stuff, I’ll find another box or two of crap to get rid of. Continue reading →