At the moment I have a vermicomposting system set up with red wigglers in a 32 gallon garbage can. I have found composting to be very rewarding. When I am shopping and cooking I think "can I compost this" and that has improved my diet. I also create less trash. Between buying reusable or minimally packaged products, composting and recycling I hardly throw away a thing. Then I get use the compost in my garden... when I don't screw it up... =D
About my bin...
I drilled holes in the side and made a good base of torn cardboard then layered with shredded paper and kitchen/garden scraps. I still don't think it got enough drainage and airflow. I considered putting gravel under the cardboard and installing a tapper close to the bottom, but I decided I didn't usually have that much excess moisture.
I actually flooded one bin... really a drunken asshole sailor pissed and vomited in it, but anyway that's the great thing about sailors... they always ship out. I digress. Cleaning up the stagnant mess of waste and dead worms was stinky and depressing. I lost all of the compost I had ready for my garden. Only my flowers made it.
I'm going to be moving from Chicago to Austin over the winter so I am starting to break down my bin and considering new options for when I get settled. Today I went through the bin to see what I had. I had a lot of unprocessed material, a bazillion worms and some rather muddy compost. I took it all apart and rebuilt it. Along the way I pulled a decent glob of worms to find a new home. I also started another small bin with compost that was nearly ready for use. I will probably do this a few more times until I am ready to dump the remains into my outdoor system.
Now on to the fun part! Shopping for a new, more functional and possibly sophisticated system!
The main thing I have to consider is space. I will have a lot less. I'll also have less mouths to feed, less material and less plants. So what are my options?
Another bin... this time something shorter and wider that I can fit under the sink. It is inexpensive to start and does the job as long as I don't screw it up. However, harvesting is labor intensive and it can get stinky. This is a seriously no frills option.
The opposite end of the spectrum...THE
NatureMill: PRO XE Automatic Compost Bin!
http://naturemill.com/pro.html
I saw this at the Museum of Science and industry Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit.
http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/
It is a cute story really... A man who worked there jokingly compared my Monkey to a red wiggler and showed him their vermicomposting system. Chad replied in his typical "you can't tell me what's what" tone "Oh my Mommy does composting. We have lots of worms." The man looked at me in full make-up, hair and wardrobe.. he was obviously skeptical. I nodded and after talking a bit other people joined in the conversation. They showed me two brochures. The first is a great resource for children. The Adventures of Herman at www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/worms/ teaches is all about worms but there are other parts of the site dedicated to rivers, tree, insects etc. Then they showed me this amazing composting technology in the Smart Home brochure. I can in no way afford this.
There are less expensive and worm free indoor systems like this...
http://www.compostbins.com/compost-bins/kitchen-composters/scdhappyfarmerkitchencomposterkittan.cfm which utilize "fermented organic matter" to break down material into compost tea. Um... okay, this is neither scientifically or technologically interesting to me, but I guess it does the job and is practical for apartment living... blah.
Here is the option that makes the most sense for me at the moment.
The Worm Factory® 360 Recycled Plastic Worm Composter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VR1bE5Z6y0&feature=player_embedded
Given the amount of money I have already spent on supplies to re-purpose old ugly stuff... and that I will not be carting old ugly stuff across the country... it just makes sense to buy something designed for worm composting that is actually kinda cute. I like that the system is divided into trays. I'm not sure how much material the boy and I will produce so I can expand as needed. It will also be less labor intensive for me. Digging in a 32 gallon can just to separate material into trays... kills my back and keeps my lazy ass from harvesting when I should.
I am sure there are a lot of other systems out there and will continue to research them as my moving day approaches.
I hope you have been inspired by my efforts as a single working Mami optimistically planning a high efficiency-economical-nature friendly-Ueber healthy-micro home. Advice, opinions, corrections, and compliments are welcome.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Quotes... Because Other People Say Things Better.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (this is from the movie)
Rochester: We've been good friends, haven't we?
Jane Eyre: Yes, sir.
Rochester: I've a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string, somewhere under my left ribs. Tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave, I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap. And I have a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, you'd forget me.
Jane Eyre: How? I have lived a full life here. I have not been trampled. I have not been petrified. I have not been excluded from every glimpse of what is bright. I have known you, Mr. Rochester. And it strikes me with anguish to be torn from you.
Rochester: Then why must you leave?
Jane Eyre: Because of your wife!
Rochester: I have no wife!
Jane Eyre: But you are to be married!
Rochester: Jane, you must stay.
Jane Eyre: And become nothing to you? Am I a machine without feelings? Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am soulless and heartless? I have as much soul as you and full as much heart! And if God had blessed me with beauty and wealth, I could make it as hard for your to leave me as it is for I to leave you. I'm not speaking to you through mortal flesh. It is my spirit that addresses your spirit. As if we'd passed through the grave and stood at God's feet equal. As we are!
Rochester: As we are.
Rochester: We've been good friends, haven't we?
Jane Eyre: Yes, sir.
Rochester: I've a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string, somewhere under my left ribs. Tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave, I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap. And I have a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, you'd forget me.
Jane Eyre: How? I have lived a full life here. I have not been trampled. I have not been petrified. I have not been excluded from every glimpse of what is bright. I have known you, Mr. Rochester. And it strikes me with anguish to be torn from you.
Rochester: Then why must you leave?
Jane Eyre: Because of your wife!
Rochester: I have no wife!
Jane Eyre: But you are to be married!
Rochester: Jane, you must stay.
Jane Eyre: And become nothing to you? Am I a machine without feelings? Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am soulless and heartless? I have as much soul as you and full as much heart! And if God had blessed me with beauty and wealth, I could make it as hard for your to leave me as it is for I to leave you. I'm not speaking to you through mortal flesh. It is my spirit that addresses your spirit. As if we'd passed through the grave and stood at God's feet equal. As we are!
Rochester: As we are.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Saying a Good Word is Like French Kissing... Myself.
Linguistic masturbation.
I love good words. I once had a suitor that called me at night and read from a thesaurus. I loved it... It never got him laid, but about 15 years later I had a one night stand with his hotter-younger-dumber brother. *SMILE*
I was listening to a new hip-hop song and I thought the lyrics said "I'm despondent like that." I thought that was pretty brilliant.
*I love the way my mouth feels when I make an effort to enunciate it.
*I love the thought of a sexy man (the vocalist) being trisyllabic.
*I love the sound of repetitive, hard consonants. Okay... breathe Savvy.
... I had no idea what it meant, but damn it got me going.
de·spon·dent (d-spndnt) adj.
Feeling or expressing despondency; dejected.
de·spondent·ly adv.
Synonyms: despondent, despairing, forlorn, hopeless
These adjectives mean being without or almost without hope: despondent about the company's failure; took a despairing view of world politics; a forlorn cause; a hopeless case.
Antonym: hopeful
*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Turns out that wasn't what he was saying. Not even close. Maybe he'll change it for me?
Even if I did hallucinate this word I think it came into my life right when I needed it. Thank you malfunctioning brain.
This will be a new list of word that make me want to have sex with an intellectual... or his hotter-younger-dumber brother at a later date.
Acrimonious. I've always loved this word. It describes... me. I think the writers of Rescue Me love it too because they use it a lot.
acrimonious [ˌækrɪˈməʊnɪəs]
adj
characterized by bitterness or sharpness of manner, speech, temper, etc.
acrimoniously adv
acrimoniousness n
*Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
To be continued...
I love good words. I once had a suitor that called me at night and read from a thesaurus. I loved it... It never got him laid, but about 15 years later I had a one night stand with his hotter-younger-dumber brother. *SMILE*
I was listening to a new hip-hop song and I thought the lyrics said "I'm despondent like that." I thought that was pretty brilliant.
*I love the way my mouth feels when I make an effort to enunciate it.
*I love the thought of a sexy man (the vocalist) being trisyllabic.
*I love the sound of repetitive, hard consonants. Okay... breathe Savvy.
... I had no idea what it meant, but damn it got me going.
de·spon·dent (d-spndnt) adj.
Feeling or expressing despondency; dejected.
de·spondent·ly adv.
Synonyms: despondent, despairing, forlorn, hopeless
These adjectives mean being without or almost without hope: despondent about the company's failure; took a despairing view of world politics; a forlorn cause; a hopeless case.
Antonym: hopeful
*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Turns out that wasn't what he was saying. Not even close. Maybe he'll change it for me?
Even if I did hallucinate this word I think it came into my life right when I needed it. Thank you malfunctioning brain.
This will be a new list of word that make me want to have sex with an intellectual... or his hotter-younger-dumber brother at a later date.
Acrimonious. I've always loved this word. It describes... me. I think the writers of Rescue Me love it too because they use it a lot.
acrimonious [ˌækrɪˈməʊnɪəs]
adj
characterized by bitterness or sharpness of manner, speech, temper, etc.
acrimoniously adv
acrimoniousness n
*Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
To be continued...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Pain/Sleep
I do not "enjoy" my job so I am not saying this intending for anyone to be impressed or interested. I am, at the moment, a retail floor planner for a major drug store chain. In my initial excitement of actually being employed, I paid close attention to the lineal space allocations for each department.
I'm sure you understand that space allowance depends on sales and that depends on the location of the store and it's average customer. Cosmetics is, by far, allotted the most space in the best location in every store. The pain/sleep department also caught my attention. "I have pain. I want to sleep." Pain/sleep can take up from 18' to much as 30' and that... is pretty much the length of one side of an aisle.
People have pain... people want to sleep.
Like any creative self-medicator I have fussed with my formula for years trying to get it just right. I've tried chamomile tea, Tylonal PM, NyQuil, a healthy diet and exercise and, of course, bottles of various kinds of liquor.
I'm a pretty typical Gen-X girl. I have my cell phone, Ipass laptop, Ipod, GPS, efficiency cooking appliances, etc. I want to be able to wake up and go to sleep with the ease and convenience of everything else in my life. Results. Now. Though my body is vintage, c.1980 (ahem), it is an ancient technology. It is not responding as needed. I need to be able to sleep immediately and then wake up if my son calls, when my alarm goes off... if someone comes into my room or if there is something more dangerous in my head that I need to get away from. Something... spiritual or subconscious... untouchable... is wrong.
I have these nightmares. I had them as a child. They were usually about being eaten alive by bugs. I watched them, in a panic, tunneling into my skin, but as a teen the pests went away. In my early twenties they were about being attacked and abused by men... I'm sure I was a delight to sleep next to. I stopped sleeping. They started again when my son was seven weeks old and I chose to be a single mother. They are about all sorts of things now, but usually natural disasters and living a post apocalyptic life.
It's embarrassing when I have a friend in the passenger side. I had a friend who would sing to me... a crooner. Another who would leave... a Nazi. Another who would restrain me so that I couldn't get up and wander... he's too fresh for classification.
Lately my sleeping has been irregular... too deep... too light... no sleep... nightmares... no dreams... odd dreams and lovely vivid dreams... dreams so sweet that I am Éponine Thénardier... finding solace in saccharine.
Haha theatrics.
Anyway. This will be my sleep log because I like lists as much as I like rambling. My informal sleep study.
* I am literally running through the streets of a city. I'm very serious and intent, but not crying. I'm going from church to church... of any and every religion and praying... on my knees with my hands on my heart. I have no idea what I was praying about, but I was very sure of myself in my dream. In reality I have been resolved in my Atheism for 18 years.
* Again I am in a city, but this time walking on a sidewalk holding my son's hand. We are dressed casually. There are other people but it's not overly crowded and the city sounds are muffled in the background. I ask him if he likes it here and he says yes. We turn a corner and go down some steps, but this part I am watching from behind myself and then we are gone.
*I dream of this guy I'll spare you the dirty details... it's too hard to write about, but he is a total douche... anyway there are bats too. They fly at my head... maybe I need to wash my hair more? Gonna wash that man right outta my hair... oh yes...South Pacific. How is that for proudly waving a big dork flag?
I'm sure you understand that space allowance depends on sales and that depends on the location of the store and it's average customer. Cosmetics is, by far, allotted the most space in the best location in every store. The pain/sleep department also caught my attention. "I have pain. I want to sleep." Pain/sleep can take up from 18' to much as 30' and that... is pretty much the length of one side of an aisle.
People have pain... people want to sleep.
Like any creative self-medicator I have fussed with my formula for years trying to get it just right. I've tried chamomile tea, Tylonal PM, NyQuil, a healthy diet and exercise and, of course, bottles of various kinds of liquor.
I'm a pretty typical Gen-X girl. I have my cell phone, Ipass laptop, Ipod, GPS, efficiency cooking appliances, etc. I want to be able to wake up and go to sleep with the ease and convenience of everything else in my life. Results. Now. Though my body is vintage, c.1980 (ahem), it is an ancient technology. It is not responding as needed. I need to be able to sleep immediately and then wake up if my son calls, when my alarm goes off... if someone comes into my room or if there is something more dangerous in my head that I need to get away from. Something... spiritual or subconscious... untouchable... is wrong.
I have these nightmares. I had them as a child. They were usually about being eaten alive by bugs. I watched them, in a panic, tunneling into my skin, but as a teen the pests went away. In my early twenties they were about being attacked and abused by men... I'm sure I was a delight to sleep next to. I stopped sleeping. They started again when my son was seven weeks old and I chose to be a single mother. They are about all sorts of things now, but usually natural disasters and living a post apocalyptic life.
It's embarrassing when I have a friend in the passenger side. I had a friend who would sing to me... a crooner. Another who would leave... a Nazi. Another who would restrain me so that I couldn't get up and wander... he's too fresh for classification.
Lately my sleeping has been irregular... too deep... too light... no sleep... nightmares... no dreams... odd dreams and lovely vivid dreams... dreams so sweet that I am Éponine Thénardier... finding solace in saccharine.
Haha theatrics.
Anyway. This will be my sleep log because I like lists as much as I like rambling. My informal sleep study.
* I am literally running through the streets of a city. I'm very serious and intent, but not crying. I'm going from church to church... of any and every religion and praying... on my knees with my hands on my heart. I have no idea what I was praying about, but I was very sure of myself in my dream. In reality I have been resolved in my Atheism for 18 years.
* Again I am in a city, but this time walking on a sidewalk holding my son's hand. We are dressed casually. There are other people but it's not overly crowded and the city sounds are muffled in the background. I ask him if he likes it here and he says yes. We turn a corner and go down some steps, but this part I am watching from behind myself and then we are gone.
*I dream of this guy I'll spare you the dirty details... it's too hard to write about, but he is a total douche... anyway there are bats too. They fly at my head... maybe I need to wash my hair more? Gonna wash that man right outta my hair... oh yes...South Pacific. How is that for proudly waving a big dork flag?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Skin Care for the Apocalypse
I have a borderline addiction to beauty products and makeup. I follow the releases of new collections and read reviews. I buy buy buy like a good little girl, but with skin care I wanted to try something different. I wanted to go all natural. I wanted to use products that are inexpensive, easily obtained and multipurpose.
This is what I am doing at the moment and it appears to be slowly creating a balance in my skin and removing impurities.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- cleansing oil
Apple cider vinegar
- Toner
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay
- facial mask
Manuka Honey
- spot treatment
Water
- hydration
My goal is to get by on waterproof eyeliner and mascara when I move to Austin or in the event of an apocalypse. I'm open to suggestions.
This is what I am doing at the moment and it appears to be slowly creating a balance in my skin and removing impurities.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- cleansing oil
Apple cider vinegar
- Toner
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay
- facial mask
Manuka Honey
- spot treatment
Water
- hydration
My goal is to get by on waterproof eyeliner and mascara when I move to Austin or in the event of an apocalypse. I'm open to suggestions.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Literacy is the Old Black
This will be a running list of books I am reading or have read... I'm more of an appreciator than a writer. I buy most of my books used... Online or at resale shops. I like knowing someone else traveled the road I'm on... that's about the highest level of intimacy I can handle.
***Summer 2011***
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. by Chelsea Handler
Dorothy Parker Collected Works
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Max Tucker
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie
The Rescue by Nicholas by Nicholas Sparks
***Currently Reading***
I and Thou by Martin Buber... I felt I needed to replenish the brain tissue annihilated by my recent selection of reading material... I may have been a bit ambitious. I am NOT this fuckin' smart.
***Summer 2011***
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. by Chelsea Handler
Dorothy Parker Collected Works
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Max Tucker
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie
The Rescue by Nicholas by Nicholas Sparks
***Currently Reading***
I and Thou by Martin Buber... I felt I needed to replenish the brain tissue annihilated by my recent selection of reading material... I may have been a bit ambitious. I am NOT this fuckin' smart.
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