Greening it up.

I’m not as green as I’d like to be, or certainly as I should be.

I don’t toss my veggie scraps into a compost heap. (I want to buy one of those rolling barrels and put it outside the back door so it’s handy to use, and I can roll it every day. Every time I tried to compost I killed the compost by making it so heavy oxygen couldn’t do its job, or so wet it molded, or something. I need the ditz’s guide to composting.)

I don’t conserve water the way I should. I take long baths in full tubs, or long showers. (However, I don’t wash partial loads of laundry or dishes, so that’s something, isn’t it?)

I recycle the things they’ll pick up at the curb (certain plastics, glass and cans) but don’t save the stuff that I’d have to drive to the recycle center and turn in.

Actually, I’m pretty dismal at this, aren’t I?

What I do: Use mostly cleaning products that are natural/not dangerous to the environment. (Mostly, because I haven’t been able to give up my bleach cleaner and Comet.)

I’m now riding green miles (see sidebar) — using the bike to make trips that would ordinarily be made by car. It’s not a lot, but I hope they’ll add up.

The thermostat goes to 80 during the day and 76 at night. That’s a sacrifice for me. I would be much more comfortable with it cooler all the damn time. But I realize there are probably some of you who think, “Why would you ever set your thermostat below 85 in the summer?” or some such rot.

I take my own cloth bags to the grocery store. (Most of the time. When I remember to put them back in the Element after I use them.)

I garden and fertilize and such organically.

I’ve started combining trips so that I don’t make several when I could do everything at once. (Meaning, planning ahead and using impulse control. That’s hard!)

Um, I’m not sure what else I do. Maybe nothing. Maybe I’m a big brown sludgey wasteful mess.

But I’m trying. And I’ll get better. I promise.

What do YOU do?

frogs

Anyone speak German?

I ran across this image and just want to know what that beverage is. Assuming it’s a beverage. Looks like maybe mint floating in it?

At least, I think it’s German.

Vigilante TaTas

A few years ago, the last day of an exhausting Austin Film Festival, a handful of us were standing around in the lobby for one last chat before taking off in different directions. I remember Jette being there, because she started it.

She was talking about comic books, and the comic book that she’d always wanted to see — and in the noise I said, “Did you just say what I thought you said?”

She started laughing. “Probably.”

“Because I thought you said you wanted to see a comic book called Vigilante TaTas!”

Um, evidently not. Though we never figured out which comic book would be more successful, Vigilante TaTas or the one she actually named, that wacky Freudian bit of whimsy, Vagina Dentata.

But we all decided we must find a way to work “vigilante tatas” into something, and so far Jette has, and Toni has, but I never had.

Until today.

And today is just by default, because actually, I’m pointing you to where Toni wrote about how her own vigilante tatas launched (I slay me) her writing career:

Here.

And while you’re there, bookmark that site. There’s lot of good writing stuff there, from a bunch of thriller writers who are launching their careers in 2007!

Have fun.

Oh, and don’t read Toni’s entry with anything in your mouth. I’m just saying.

The Basket

I’ve had some requests to post pics and info about my basket and so, here it is:

It’s spring-mounted. Not sure if you can tell, but you pull out those little handles at the bottom to get it off and/or on the bike rack. The silver things across the bottom are actually the springs. It’s really nifty.

And from the side:

And from the back:

I realize this makes me more of a Fred than ever, but I don’t care.

In fact, my accessorizing has just begun. After reading oil is for sissies yesterday I feel validated!

GTD — The Travel Edition (what to wear)

What you wear determines how light you pack as much if not more than how much you pack.

Our first trip to the UK we wore heavy sweaters, jeans, flannels, etc. and white leather athletic shoes since we knew we’d be doing lots of walking. These kinds of things set you off as an American, I’m told, though oddly we were stopped several times and asked for directions by people who were clearly Brits, so go figger.

We saw lots of people who clearly didn’t care if they looked like tourists — Europeans primarily. “Not looking like Americans” wasn’t high on our list of priorities, though I know lots of people do care. Somehow having a guidebook in your hand and a camera around your neck kind of identifies you, anyway.

But when I started hanging out on all the “packing light” websites I realized all the mistakes we’d made. Yes, it’s true that when we got caught in a squall on Exmoor (how fun — to be on a moor in a blowing gale!) and when we’d been at Stonehenge and it was raining sideways!!! my jeans got wet and never got totally dry again. And my coat kept me toasty warm but when I took it off I was dripping with perspiration underneath.

I never considered that there was a way to avoid any of this. But the way was to start buying clothes that are made for outdoors, that are made to pack light in a backpack, that are made to wick moisture away from you and dry quickly.

I discovered REI, and quick dry stuff like this, and especially, hi-tec undies! (Remember, all of our trips to the UK have been in February and March.)

Once you know what to look for, there are all sorts of microfiber clothes around that don’t wrinkle, that weigh next to nothing and fold down to nothing, and did I say, don’t wrinkle? By the time we crossed the pond again five years later, we’d accumulated enough such clothing to end up with the much-vaunted one-carryon for everything we needed. (Now, the fact that the resident storm chaser is also a photographer and had expensive equipment meant we actually did have to check stuff — he checked his carryon and carried on his equipment, for obvious reasons.)

Also, we both bought breathable hooded rain jackets. Let’s see, we bought those in 1999 and have worn them every winter, and they still look brand new. They’ve crossed the pond three times, have been camping numerous times, have been worn in Colorado and throughout the Great Plains on tornado chases and whenever it rains in Dallas. They fold into their own pocket when not in use. One of the best purchases we ever made.

Now, how did this work in the real world? I had a black microfiber outfit that could be dressed up or down — in London with the hi-tec undies beneath and a knit something-or-other over I was plenty warm for the theatre that night, if less bundled-up-looking than most. We were only in London a couple of days and when we were touring I wore my other stuff, but did have the black outfit for if/when I wanted to look nicer.

Everything else worked perfectly. A couple of times I washed stuff out in the sink and hung it to dry and by morning it was dry as toast. This was also true with my Thorlo socks — wash out with Woolite, turn inside out, roll into a towel and squeeze as dry as possible, then hang to dry. The ability to do this eliminates the need for lots of clothes.

Choosing clothes that mix and match easily is key for women, of course — but that doesn’t have to mean boring. If you’re into accessories, that’s easy to do, as well. Just choose scarves and whatnot to dress things up/mix things up, you know what to do.

I usually only have two or three pair of pants (other than what I wear on the plane) and four, maybe five tops. This is for two weeks, and would work just as well for a month or longer. I’m purposely leaving room to pick up stuff while I’m there to bring home — a sweater, a jacket, whatever I run across that I can’t live without. Adding to what you take is part of the fun, whether you find it at Harrod’s (never been there) or Portobello Road (fun place).

Last trip, this is what I took:

18″ Eagle Creek Pack-It Folder with three pair trousers, three shirts, one sweater. Trousers included one pair hiking pants from REI, two pair travel pants from Travelsmith. Shirts include guide shirts from REI and microfiber top. All are handwashable, quick drying, and easily mix-and-match. (Jeans are heavier, take up a lot more space and have to be machine washed and dried — not worth it when traveling.)

All of my clothes have to fit into one Eagle Creek Pack-It Folder or they don’t go. And if you’re not traveling in winter, you’ve got an even easier job!

Plan to wear everything several times and either wash out in the sink or hit a laundromat. Laundromats can be fun places to spend an hour or two, believe it or not! You meet the locals, have time the just chill and read a book and see something beyond the tourist spots.

The exception to the jeans thing is that if I really want them, I wear them onto the plane. Last trip we got bumped up to business class from London to Raleigh/Durham and I was wearing jeans, t-shirt, blazer — the screenwriter’s uniform.

Remember — packing “light” starts with wearing clothes that aren’t bulky and heavy. That’s easy to do — it just takes a little advance planning. Which for me, is a lot of the fun!

Your clothes can by stylish or utilitarian — your choices are wide open. Just choose “light” and “nonwrinkle” and “quick dry.” In today’s market place, that isn’t hard to do, for any season.

Also see: the first install ment of packing light

Next, GTD – The Travel Edition (what to carry).