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Posts Tagged ‘shopping’

Our Future

Posted in announcement, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2009| 3 Comments »

Hey all, my sis-in-law, Shawna, turned me on to an incredible website (and movement) called Healthy Child, Healthy World. As the name indicates, it is devoted to one thing: the health of our children. It’s an amazing site, and obviously well-supported. And the topics (like GMO labeling and enchanced chemical regulations) are near and dear to my heart.

Take a look at this well-produced trailer to get a sense of the founders’ commitment and the scope of their project. It’s very exciting!

I wonder if Healthy Child will be able to generate that all-important critical mass to affect real and sustained change. I certainly hope so, because although the focus might be our children (which is plenty important enough), the effects of the changes would be far-reaching.

I’d like to know what you think.

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Locavores make it big

Posted in philosophy, tagged , , , , , , , on May 13, 2009| 1 Comment »

Apparently, so many people are interested in buying locally-grown produce that even the big guys like Pepsico, Foster Farms, and ConAgra have taken notice. They’re releasing marketing campaigns that tout their “local” credentials. You can read the whole NYT article here.

What do you think?

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Episode 3!

Posted in filmmaking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

First, for those of you with RSS readers, I fixed the blog title so it shows up on the feeds again. (Thanks for the heads-up, Chris!)

And now, the next episode! It’s a  jam-packed one. My mom and I are really starting to get the hang of this—except maybe for the whole indoor lighting thing. You’ll see what I mean.

Wait until you see the garden! It’s insane how big the veggies (and the sunflowers) got. I mean it. Insane. We also get to the SLO Farmers Market, where I interview some of our local farmers (and a bee keeper). Logan and Kaia track down some lizards to show us, and my mom and I have a coffee and talk about the triple bottom line philosophy. Like I said, jam packed!

I’m totally stoked at the momentum we’re building for Hole in the Fence. There are great things happening here and I can feel the energy! I hope you do, too.

Let us know what you think in the comments. We love your feedback!

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Goodwill is great

Posted in money, tagged , on February 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

My mom got this gorgeous stainless steel teapot for us.

For $5.

From Goodwill.

If you’re not concerned about “new,” or about where you bought it, then Goodwill is a great place to put on your “check here first” list. Treasures abound.

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Coffee, anyone?

Posted in community, organic gardening, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2009| 3 Comments »

So I am sitting in my favorite coffee house, Black Horse (which used to be called Uptown and which is where I used to work in my college days sooooo long ago). After the euporia of my latte began to wear off and more pragmatic thoughts began to filter through my brain, a conversation I’d had with my mom bubbled back to the surface. It was about coffee grounds. Coffee grounds and gardens. And reusing. And not wasting.

You see, coffee grounds are GREAT for my garden. And Black Horse has LOTS of coffee grounds. Therefore, getting LOTS of coffee grounds from Black Horse would be GREAT for my garden. Oooooh, I LOVE logic! (You can tell that by now my latte high has completely dissipated).

Seriously, Eric makes the BEST lattes.

I asked Eric—the manager and coffee hero who created my nectar-of-the-gods—if Black Horse recycled its grounds. His response was measured and polite.

“Hell no. We have way too many grounds for that.” He pointed to the trash bins where they deposited the steaming remains of brewed and espressoed coffee.

“But you would give them to someone who asked?” I pressed.

“Sure. In fact, we have a few people who come in for that already. Why, were you thinking about some for your garden?”

My opening arriveth on golden wings.

“Yep. And I have a few other friends who might like some, too.”

Do I ever. Here’s the deal: if you live in SLO and you need grounds, feel free to stop by and ask for a bag of grounds. Better yet, bring your own bag. Tell Eric that Samson sent you. If we get enough interest, I’ll formalize this with Eric and we’ll create an actual Grounds for the Garden program, which will benefit everyone involved:

  • Us gardeners will get some beautiful high-quality grounds for free
  • Black Horse will reduce their trash fees and get increased customer pass-through
  • We’ll be taking waste bound for a landfill and reusing it to produce necessary commodities

If you’re NOT from SLO, have you considered asking your local coffeehouse about reusing their grounds? They’ll probably be up for it if you explain the potential benefits.

Huzzah for community involvement!

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Reusable Bags, Compost, and an Explanation

Posted in sustainability, tagged , , , , , on January 2, 2009| 12 Comments »

I was asked to contribute to this blog mainly because I think Samson wanted to get me involved in this project in some way.  Don’t get me wrong, I have contributed many ideas that have been implemented into the show—say the garden, for instance.  Back in March of 2008 I innocently told Samson that I wanted to get a little garden going.  I took him to the area that I wanted it and told him my idea about making the garden so that little critters couldn’t get to it.  I wanted a simple summer garden with tomatoes and fresh herbs and maybe some melons and cucumbers….what I got was Hole in the Fence.  My little garden became a behemoth and I just threw up my hands and said, “I am done! You take over and if I get veggies this year I will be very thankful.”

Well I did get my vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, green beans and more cucumbers than I knew what to do with. (If you have any good recipes for cucumbers, I would love to hear them). I also got introduced to  composting, and I really do love composting. I have watched our weekly trash diminish from 2 full bins to maybe one and most of that was recycling. However, I have not yet found an efficient way of collecting it before we take it out to the composting pile. Just a note, DO NOT leave it open on the kitchen counter: not only is it really gross, but it also attracts ants and little fruit flies—not very pleasant.  I need to find a way to collect it that is not only pleasing to my cleanly self, but also bug free…..again suggestions would be appreciated.

Okay so here is the real reason Samson wanted me to blog. I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday and, as an earth conscious person, I take my own bags. I got my first bag ten years ago and my collection is now adequate. However, it has taken me at least a year to remember my bags on a regular basis—and if I remembered them I would leave them in the car (I can not tell you how many times I have bagged my paid for groceries in the parking lot). That being said, I have made it a habit to get my bags now and I have to say they are so convenient and easy.  I can pack my groceries in them nice and heavy and not be afraid of the bags tearing, and I can get a weeks worth of groceries in four to five bags as opposed to the ten to fifteen they try to give me with regular bags.  I also personally bag my own groceries, mostly because I like tetris and it is really challenging to get everything square, but also because I just do it in a way that I understand, for example, one bag for freezer, one for the pantry, one for the fridge, it just streamlines putting away my groceries.

I am done monopolising your time, hope I did not bore you to tears. I am sure I will contribute more as the mood comes.  Again recipes and ideas for countertop compost storing would be so appreciated.

Deni

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