August 29, 2010

bloody mary

In our fast paced world, it's important to slow down every now and again - perhaps with a nice long brunch and perhaps with a bloody mary.

Ingredients:
4 oz. tomato juice
1.5 oz. vodka
dash of lime juice
dash of hot sauce
dash of vegan worcestershire sauce
dash of celery seed
dash of black pepper
dash of salt
many green olives and miscellaneous veggies

August 18, 2010

car share

As mentioned in the previous post, we moved! Our new location is near a bike path so I can get to work and near a bus stop so Eric can start getting to work in another month after he wraps up his thesis! Other bonuses are that we gained square footage and we're allowed to get a dog. Unfortunately, my dreams of gardens and chickens and food cellars have not come to fruition just yet. Ah well, someday soon enough...

As for the logistics of hauling our stuff across town, we considered doing some sort of organized bike move, however, given our current time vortices - Eric finishing his thesis and our upcoming wedding - we opted to utilize eGo CarShare, a local, non-profit car sharing organization. As members of eGo, we can rent any of their cars parked around Boulder or Denver at an hourly rate. We make our reservations online and we have an electronic key that allows us to use the car when its our turn.

There are several of these kinds of organizations across the country including ZipCar, a widespread for-profit company. It's a fantastic way to reduce car ownership. They fulfill people's random car errand needs like buying furniture from craigslist or taking a pet to the vet. I can now attest that they also work marvelously for moving across town!

August 17, 2010

impromptu solar cooking

We moved into a new apartment, which has better solar access (read: worse shading) than the previous. I noticed that the aluminum threshold gets very hot, so I decided to throw on some turtle beans and do some impromptu solar cooking. It got up to 134°F, which I know is nothing compared to actual solar ovens. I'll still have to boil these, but the hot soaking will reduce the cooking time.

August 16, 2010

boulder is getting a tool library

(photo source: takomabibelot)

I'm excited that Boulder is getting a tool library. Our friends Libby and Tristan built their tiny house/gypsy wagon primarily using tools from a tool library in Santa Fe--proof that you can accomplish a lot without requiring your own woodshop and expensive tools! I'm hoping for a thickness planer I can use on salvaged wood.

Boulder's Tool Library is happening through the efforts of the Center for ReSource Conservation and Adam Jackaway, who went through the same graduate program as me. You can vote here every day until September 10, to help the idea win a $20,000 grant. Read more about the tool library: here.

And find one near you: List of tool-lending libraries.