Freecycle - One man's trash

Freecycle is a national recycling movement that began in Tucson, Arizona. According to the website today there are 4.2 million members. Freecycle takes recycling to a whole new level. Some people come to Freecycle because they have unwanted items, couches they now consider out of style, strollers they no longer need, books they've finished reading or perhaps a plastic bag of plastic bags. Other people come looking for things, a desk, a bed, a tv, storage containers, moving boxes...etc. And some people fall into both groups. I have been on both the giving and receiving end of Freecycle.

I discovered Freecycle 2-3 years ago when I was moving and wanted to give away some furniture and other small items. I was discouraged by what charities would and would not take, where they would and would not pick up and what they would and would not do with the items I was giving away.

I listed what I had on my local Freecycle and within a day it was all gone. Each and every item was picked up by someone happy to have something I no longer wanted. I have since then received a cordless drill, a stereo receiver, a painting of an artichoke, baby gates, an automated litter box, a set of bowls and other "unwanted" treasures.

I've seen all sorts of things come and go. The items are usually valuable (to someone), but perhaps not worth the effort to sell or perhaps the owner can't bare to see them in their local landfill and begs for someone to find an use for them.

The artichoke painting was nothing I planned on wanting or even receiving. It came in a bag of miscellaneous kitchen items. I no longer remember the kitchen item I needed, perhaps a colander? The happy little artichoke now sits at the back of my stove and makes me smile everyday.

Baggie Follow-up

Last week I visited my local pet store, Dog Bone Alley, to see if they carried BioBags. It turns out they do not, but all the poop bags they carry are biodegradable. When I got home I read the packaging on the last batch of baggies I had purchased there. Right on the front was a large round label that read "100% Biodegradable Bags! except as defined by California."

So now I'm trying to imagine what is left from a biodegradable bag vs. a biodegradable bag as defined by California. Hmmm.

Going Green

Yesterday, I was standing in the shower staring at my cheap plastic "disposable" razor contemplating the wastefulness of the object. As I stood there, I continued to turn up the hot water, wasting both gas and water. Surrounding me were a plastic toothpaste tube, plastic toothbrush, plastic shampoo bottle, and plastic tube of shaving gel. Just about the only things not encased in plastic were me and the bar of soap.

Why is it that we use plastic for disposable items? Plastics last forever. Plastics are good for so many things, heart valves, legos,...you've all seen the propaganda, I mean commercials. We all have things we wish would last a lifetime or more, such as antiques we want to pass on, photos of loved ones, pets and memories. With the exception of a few sofas in the Mid-west, San Fernando Valley, and New Jersey, we seem to be using plastics for keeping our shampoo, toothpaste, and milk from mixing and lastly for keeping our garbage safe. Will there ever be a time when we encase our antiques or pets in plastic and throw our garbage away like garbage? And what will "garbage" be in the future? I can only hope that it will no longer exist.

So what's a girl to do?

I haven't decided what to do about the shower and "essential items" yet, but I have made some other small changes. After reading The environmental impact of pets as well as Part 2; SF Gate articles written by Christie Keith. I switched from a clay clumping litter to a corn-based clumping litter called literally "World's Best Cat Litter". So far the litter seems to be a good and less dusty replacement for my previously preferred ScoopAway litter. I also ordered a sample pack of BioBag poop bags from PoopBags.com. When I run out of plastic poop bags, I'll be switching to the new poop bags, which are almost identical to my previous bags, except much softer, almost silky. BioBag also makes garbage bags, which Cole Hardware in San Francisco carries, so perhaps my local hardware store will also have them.

Celebrate the Moments of Your Life

Print advertisements and commercials are everywhere you look. From large roadside billboards to Google ads interwoven with Internet content. Years ago it seemed like you couldn't escape from commercials on television. On the other hand, the Internet had hardly any ads. Now TV is the one place I no longer see advertisements, thanks to having a DVR.

I recently skimmed an article about plans to add forced commercials and/or advertisements onto DVR systems. Unfortunately I can't remember the exact details of which companies were involved. I understand commercials pay for programming and print ads pay for magazine publishing, but can't we get a break now and then.

"Limited commercial interuption", three words that are music to my ears. I don't even care what the program is, just knowing there will be few commercials is reason enough to watch. And quite often with LCI programming, the (limited) commercials are better than the program. There was one particular night years ago, I don't remember the show, but I do remember the International Coffee commercial series that ran in between. Each segment built upon the previous one until the climactic finale ending in a swirl of sophisticated powdered instant coffee beverages shared amongst people who loved each other.

Heart Pumping Caffeine

I am a (somewhat discerning) espresso junkie. I'd rather go without than regret a beverage choice, but when presented with a decent latte would never turn it down.

I have fairly predictable consumption patterns.
Weekdays: two shots of espresso and cold milk, a little extra time and I'll steam the milk.
Friday evenings: a double decaf latte.
Dinner out on a weekend: a nice foamy, after dinner, cappuccino.
~~ No syrups, no sugar, perhaps a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon. ~~

My addiction started in the summer of '77 at a quaint restaurant in Québec. While trying to decide what to drink, I came across, café au lait on the menu. I asked what it was and haven't looked back.

Eeny, meeny, miny, Mo?

I came across this photo when I was searching for a blog profile photo. I spent some time looking at it and I'm still not sure which one is Mo. The photo was taken just before '05/'06 New Year's Eve.

Since we knew Mojito's parents, we were around when he was still a baby and too young to come home with us. We visited and helped bottle feed the 14 pups as well as transport them during a move. In the photo they are 6-7 weeks old.

The puppies needed to be moved from one house to another, so we setup a chain gang to get the puppies into the wagon. Mo now takes up the back on his own.