The Story of Stuff

Nice Drivin’, Ace (w/ Update)

Oh, the two residents of Burgansburg are nervous and happy! Today we get to meet Ace, a boxer/beagle mix. His foster mom Amanda from Last Day Dog Rescue will be bringing him over to meet us tonight at 6:30 and we are so excited! She sang his doggie praises on the phone and we couldn’t be more pleased to make his aquaintence and see if he seems to be the right fit for our family.

By youknowhowwedo at 2008-07-18

By youknowhowwedo at 2008-07-18

Keep your fingers crossed for us. I hope he works out and that the shelter finds us suitable adoptive parents.

UPDATE @ 12:30: I guess another family is “dead set” on having him. He is still coming to visit us, but I have a sad feeling that we’re going to get passed over… again. If this doesn’t work out, we might have to go to an adoption event or just buy a dog or get one from animal control, because PetFinder has been a frustrating experience. Bottom line: If a family is loving and financially secure, it shouldn’t be as hard to adopt a dog as it is to adopt a child.

This Makes My Year

Every year we get our cat Fluffer-Nutter shaved with a lion cut.  After the cut she both loves and hates us for a few days.  This month or two of relatively hairball-free living is so worth it.  I thought I’d share our joy with you.

Check the bow.  Lovely!

Just darling.  Grin.

You Can Only Live Life One Day at a Time

Well, you can only live life one day at a time, but I’m currently required to plan mine at least two months in advance. I still have limited dates available in August. Grunt.

CJ is Currently Experiencing…

…way too many dreams about pregnancy. I just awoke from a dream where I had to tell my parents I was pregnant, the baby was kicking, I thought it was a girl, and I was going into labor all at the same time. Not a good dream. And yes, it was just a dream. I am the opposite of pregnant.

…living out of my planner. I think I would cease to function without it. After a trip to the Apple store yesterday evening, I know that I would like an iPod Touch because you can also use it as a PDA that syncs with iCal and Google Calendar. I am currently juggling regular life, married life, work, school, and now an internship. (The intership starts with the brightly colored square in the lower left corner.) Am I super-special-pity-me? Well, no, but this post is an update about me, so piss off. (Ooh, the scheduling makes CJ testy!)

…the need for more, organic tea. I have this hunch that I have a slight allergic aversion to pesticides, so I’m trying to make my produce and my tea, which I hit heavily, organic as much as possible.

…allergies, speaking of, well, allergies. Freakin’ A, the allergies started when I ate some delicious tiramisu at Pizzeria Venti, containing espresso, a.k.a. really concentrated coffee, a.k.a. I knew I was allergic but I did it anyway. I think the current pollen levels, cat dander/fur, pesticides, and other jack-assery are keeping it from going away three weeks later.

…thinking of how best, besides transitioning back to a vegan diet, to regain vitality, energy, and get in shape. Can I get a ZOMG from the choir, please? The vegan thing is much to my husband’s chagrin, but he’s being as supportive as he can, wellblesshisheart. I can’t be out of shape and be a totally effective myomassologist. Oh, I could, but I would wear out too fast. This is probably the most difficult hurdle, but thinking of lessening or eliminating asthma symptoms, joint pains, etc. is fairly good motivation.

…glad that I finally eliminated about 305 songs from my iTunes music library that turned down the rocks and turned up the sucks. Now my ever-shuffled iTunes only has output of songs that rock. I can get behind that. (I thought I’d end on a happy note, all puns intended. Wermpt.)

That’s the update if you wonder where the hell I’ve gone in a few weeks. A-thankyou.

Burgansburg Thoughts On NYC

For our third and final video installment this weekend, we have Nate and CJ giving their thoughts on NYC. This fun, little ditty was shot three years ago in Central Park. It’s how any normal couple celebrate the three-year anniversary of a good vacation, really.

Detroit Zoo Polar Bear

Watch the polar bear take a swim at the Detroit Zoo’s arctic exhibit. He’s cute, but I wouldn’t want to mess with him.

Kangaroo Jumping Contest

Who will win? Will it be Nate, Faustine, or Russ?

Bag of Cheeto

We applied to adopt this little dog dude. Cheeto is his name, cuteness is his game. We’ll see, hopefully soon, if the little town of Burgansburg expands by one.

[His photo was removed from Petfinder.]

Update 06.28.08: Cheeto was adopted today… by another family. We are ever-vigilant for new, adoptable doggies. We’ll be patient until we find the right little guy to join our family!

The Compost Talk

This is an article I wrote on my old SaveChange blog, but I wanted to keep it around after I delete SaveChange, so here you go!

Originally posted as: The Haphazard, Broke Gardener Pt. 2 (The Compost Talk)

By golly, they grew! I will have you know that if treated nicely, Buttercos lettuce comes up lightening-fast. My Peacevine cherry tomatoes are also doing quite well. I have a few lime basil and anise hyssop shoot poking through the dirt, but none to raise a stink over. I’m a proud plant mama, that’s for sure.

That being said, I promised composting for fun and profit. Meh, forget the profit. I reckon if you got a good groove going with enough compost you could work out a bartering arrangement, but do it because it’s a good thing to do. Now as I see it, there are five ways to get compost in your garden:

1. Buy it
2. Get it free from a local source (neighbor or neighborhood composting program)
3. Vermicomposting
4. Open-bottom compost bin
5. Compost pile

Now, there are varying levels of work, money, and time required for all of these methods. Shall we discuss?

1. Buying compost: A positive is that it’s there instantly. Personally, I would avoid this as there are usually additives. Making your own is nearly free!
2. Getting it from a neighbor or neighborhood compost initiative: This is a great option if you can figure out how they composted and what they composted. You’re supporting community here and you don’t actually have to compost yourself, which can save time. Nothing wrong with going this route.
3. Vermicomposting is the use of “red wiggler” worms (not earth worms) to speed up the decomposition process. The overwhelming positives of this method is that you can do a relatively inexpensive, stink-free composter right inside your house, provided it doesn’t get too beastly hot (or too beastly cold). The end product here is worm castings, or humus (a.k.a. worm poo), which are rich in nutrients that soil loves. (If soil could wear a t-shirt it would say, “I <3 Worms,” which in everyday language is “I love worms.” It would… I asked it.) Negatives to this method are mostly in the temperature and ensuring that your compost maintains the right pH and moisture to allow the worms to thrive. You also have to ensure that you can actually separate the castings from the dirt, which is a wee bit trickier with a homemade set-up, but easily remedied with a store-bought set-up, which will help you collect liquid (”tea”) as well as castings. (Read more about this at sparrowpost.net‘ s vermicompost page, for one.)
4. Open-bottom compost bins get my vote for “personally most practical,” if you have a 2×2′ patch of land to put them on and if you have a few minutes each week to devote to it. You can make a bin out of chicken wire or by cutting the bottom out of a trash can, or by buying a commercially-available composter [link to Google search]. Basically, most composters allow the user to put what I like to call “stinky cake layers” into them, which then decompose with the additional benefit of bugs and worms coming up through the bottom to help the decomposition go faster. You have layers of “brown” (dried leaves, saw dust, etc.) and layers of “green” (kitchen scraps, fresh, green plants/weeds, etc.). Alternate layers, turn the compost once a week or so, and voila… compost available in four to six weeks, oftentimes with a little door at the bottom to scoop out the good stuff. These are often covered with a lid and, if you maintain it, are low on the stink factor. The big “IF” here is: Do you have the time? On an average week, I spend about 20 minutes, tops, with my compost. It’s not that much time, but it’s necessary to make it.A similar option, which I will discuss briefly, is the compost tumbler. It works on the same idea as the open-bottom tumbler, but it’s in a giant tumbler that makes it simple to turn. It works on mostly the same principles, but tumblers to get a bit more pricey than open-bottom composters. Check the debate and see which one is best for you.For an example on the open-bottom variety, here is SaveChange’s “Quick-Clip” 116.25 gallon composter, courtesy of Target:
   

   

5. Last but not least is: the compost heap or compost pile. This is usually a fenced- or boarded-in pile of compost. Think #4 above, but without sides. This can be great in a large-scale operation or in a more rural area where neighbors aren’t down wind. Again, you must have time to spend turning the pile, layering it up green/brown, and checking that pests (not bugs and worms, but “critters”) don’t come a-foraging in your pile. This is typically the most frugal way to go, but again, weigh the costs and benefits for yourself. While you’re doing heap composting, you can remember Marjorie, the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock. I’ve lovingly named my compost Marjorie the Oracle. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, CLICK HERE.

So… Thems yer options, pardner. I would love to hear your composting experiences and what types of composters that you prefer! Comment with your likes and dislikes!

Because we’re not reviewing a particular service or company, let’s review composting as a whole on our 1-5 scale.

RATING
Social Action: 2.5 - We’ll assume this for all of them. It could be a community event and it’s sure not hurting any fair trade workers, but neither is it supporting them.
Environmental Action: 5
Frugality: 4
Total Cost: $0-300, depending on choice of composter, but it certainly does pay for itself.

RATING COMMENTS: Anyone, rural, urban or suburban, can compost. Give it a shot or get involved in community composting!

Friday the 13th Wigfest

Totally Random Update

Three things I’m proud of today:

1. Wig fun.
2. My husband for going to the bank and doing laundry on his day off.
3. My sister for graduating college.

Three things I’m not proud of today:

1. Having to go to the doctor yesterday to get steroids because I ate tiramisu, which has coffee, of which I am allergic to.
2. Doing our grocery and gift shopping at WalMart.
3. Eating a turkey burger. I tried for the Gardenburger, but they were out. Damnitall.

Speaking of wigs: