It's a Green Green Green Green World

The Final Mousedown

2011-07-29T11:25:00.000-04:00

Five years ago when I first met Karen of NYC Rescued Kitties, my life was quite a bit different: I was still a freelance stage manager, I was still living in a studio apartment, my father was still alive, I had not opened my Etsy store, I had not yet met Chris, I was not yet writing in this blog, and I had not started kickboxing.

I answered an ad on the Freecycle Cafe looking for people who liked to sew and liked cats. I remember that I met Karen at the Olive Tree because it was around the corner from the Minetta Lane where I was working on a show. She gave me some supplies and asked me to commit to making an average of 12 catnip mice a week.

Over the years I have dabbled in other items for Karen to sell to raise funds for the cause: catnip birds, cat beds, other sized mice, an ill-fated attempt at a fish. The original 2 catnip mice were always the same. I changed the pattern slightly to make them easier and eventually even printed up directions in the hopes that we'd find others to help make mice. No one ever stuck with it.

As my life has changed I've had less and less time to sew, and even less time to commit to this mouse project. Today, not without some sadness, I shipped off the remaining supplies and the final bundle of mice to Karen. After 5 years, my time as "chief mouse-maker" is over.

Influence

2011-04-20T15:21:00.000-04:00

Last week I met with the building supervisor for the building where I work to clarify the building's recycling guidelines. I then sent an email out to our staff with the information.

Yesterday, one of my coworkers says to me "I brought in some plastics that can be recycled here but that aren't recycled at home. You know, I have the recycling flyer taped up to my cabinet at home but last night is the first time I read it. I'm ashamed to say that I've been throwing stuff in my recycling bin that doesn't get recycled!"

It's nice to know I've educated at least one coworker and that she is instituting changes to keep more items out of the landfill both at home and at work!

Green Changes in 2010

2010-12-31T11:02:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine asked recently what green changes we had all made this year. Most of my eco-transgressions are in the personal care department. I'm not a very girly girl, I don't dress up much and I am sensitive to fragrances so I have no good reason for the amount of personal care products I still use. In 2010 I did manage to make 3 changes for the better in that department:

1. I switched to LunaPads. I still haven't given up tampons and for the most part tampons are what gets me through my monthly period. At night, however I have always used pads. Two months ago I coughed up the cash and bought a set of Lunapads. I'm still getting used to exactly how they work best for me but I am finding them very comfortable and easy to use. Lunapads can be purchased here. Use the code LUNA10 and save $5 off an order of $25! Using reusable Lunapads rather than disposable pads keeps one more bit of trash out of the landfills.

2. I gave up conditioner. I'll admit it: I'm vain about my hair. Earlier this year I was still using Aveda shampoo and conditioner. Their products are lovely but expensive. When I ran out I switched back to Giovanni Organics. Since I use a couple of styling products (to moisturize and protect) and a flat iron on my hair I wondered what would happen if I stopped using conditioner. Guess what? NOTHING! My hair is still healthy and happy without it. So as son as the conditioner was used up I jut didn' replace it. Voila--one less product in the bathroom. Giving up conditioner keeps that out of the water supply and also keeps the packaging out of the recycling system.

3. I gave up nasal steroids antihistamines and decongestants. As most of you know, a few months ago I had nasal surgery. Prior to surgery I had been using a daily nasal steroid and occasional decongestants and antihistamines. Post-surgery I find I don't need any of those. Giving up these medications keeps them out of my body and out of the water supply. It also limits the packaging that gets put into the recycling systems and landfill.

So tell me--what green changes did you make this year?

The Jessina Purse finally hits the shop!

2010-12-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

If you liked the Mariola Purse, you're going to love the Jessina Purse! A slightly larger version of her sister, Jessina is a little roomier to carry just a bit more of your essentials. Two inner pockets and 2 outer pockets give you lots of places to stash your phone, keys, money and wallet.

The main body of this purse is made by string-piecing scraps and selvages from other projects--a true RE-USE bag! It is fully lined and features a button as an embellishment on the flap.

Check out all of the Jessina Purses here!

Produce Bags

2010-12-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to making some produce bags. Well, I think of them as produce bags, but in fact, when I buy produce I don't use bags: I just grab up what I want, hand it to the cashier to weigh and toss it in my bag with my other groceries.

These bags, regardless of what I call them, are for the bulk bins. I often stop at the Westerly Market in midtown to buy dried fruit and nuts. I haven't ventured into much else in terms of bulk buying yet. Despite trying to reuse bags, I often found I was at the Westerly without anything and needed to take plastic bags for my purchases. Now I realize that having made bags in no way guarantees that 'll remember to bring them but I'm hoping it will help!

I took the lightest-weight fabric I had lying around. This turned out to be some Valentine-themed fabric my sister had sent me. I cut the first bag at random (about 7" square) using a pinking blade. It seemed a little small so I cut the next one at 7" x 10". That seemed good so I cut a few more that size. Then I cut up what was left of the fabric. Hence, there are a variety of sizes.

My friend Sherry happened to have some green ribbon around that she didn't want so I used that for the drawstrings. (The bags are also stitched in green and turquoise; I like to use up odd colors on projects like this where it doesn't matter.) You may notice that one of the bags looks inside-out; it's not. I just stitched it wrong and decided it didn't matter enough to tear it out.

When I use the bulk bins, I need to label the bags with the product number. The Westerly supplies pens and twist-ties to label and close the bags. I decided to see if I could make a permanent tag so I wouldn't have to use the twist-ties. I cut up the plastic lid of a coffee can and made tags. I'm not sure yet if I will permanently label some bags with the numbers of items I buy a lot or if I will just carry a china marker to temporarily write the numbers on the tags. Regardless, I'm pretty pleased with this little project which took very little time and cost me nothing!

Process

2010-11-16T11:52:00.001-05:00

I always like to see other folks' process on a project so I thought I would share mine here.

My friend and neighbor Will (of WillTeez) asked me a few weeks ago if I could do some top-stitching on some letters for his new Inhood sweatshirt series. I understood the idea of what he wanted (a basic zigzag topstitch) but having never done it before, I asked for something to try it out on first. Will gave me one of his personal shirts and I quickly found that the topstitching was as easy as I thought it would be.

Last week Will dropped off the first 3 sweatshirts to me. Here is what I did:

#81:
The first shirt I worked on was #81. (The shirts are limited edition and each number is only used once.) This is a navy shirt with white numbers. (All the shirts have "Inhood" in white letters on the back.) Will does the hard work of positioning and affixing the letters and numbers so the shirts come to me with that already done. I pinned cut-away stabilizer to the back of each applique. I set my ancient Singer up for a zigzag stitch with a bight of 2 and a stitch width of 3. I used white top and bobbin thread. I'm pleased with the stitching but I'm not crazy about the stabilizer being left in place.

#13:
The second shirt was #13. This shirt has black numbers on a black shirt. I was afraid it would be hard ot see the edge of the applique piece but the contrast in texture made it easier than I expected. I used the same machine settings and matched the thread for both the top and bottom (black on the numbers, white on the letters). I used cut-away stabilizer for the numbers again but switched to tear-away stabilizer for the letters. I liked the look of the tearaway much better but it was a bitch to remove it from the zigzag stitches. I also did not like seeing the outline of the applique piece on the inside of the shirt.

#66:
The third shirt in my learning curve was #66. Red letters on a black shirt. I received a package of lighter-weight tearaway stabilizer from my sister that afternoon so I used that on this shirt. I also switched up my thread: I used a top thread to match the applique and the bobbin thread was black (to match the shirt). The lighter-weight stabilizer was much easier to remove and I like the look of these much better.

Skraptacular Eco-Gift-Making Workshop December 4th

2010-11-09T18:59:00.002-05:00

Dear crafters and environmentalists,

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS

Yup, it's that time of year again, preparing for the Skraptacular Eco-Gift-Making Workshop held on Sat. December 4th from 1p.m.- 5p.m.

In an effort to bring awareness to children AND their parents about anti-consumerism, Skraptacular organizes an engaging and inspiring annual fundraiser this year benefitting Muscota New School and Skraptacular.org

Our message: Stay out of the malls and create your own holiday gifts from salvaged materials.

As this event grows each year we need more volunteers guiding our young enviro-artists. If you or anyone you know might want to volunteer for a two hour shift or introduce a new eco-craft station, please contact me: Michelle Del Guercio (917) 699 8136 mdelg@mindspring.com

Sewing station with sewing machines

Book-Making and Poetry

Jewelry-Making

Native American Crafts

Painting

Thanks everyone in advance for helping to support this very important message that needs to be passed down to the next generation!

What: Eco gift-making workshop ( for adults and kids alike)

Where: Muscota New School in Inwood

When: Sunday December 4th from 1-5

Alice

2010-10-28T11:42:00.000-04:00

I started this quilt at a Quiltaway in 2009. The pattern is "A Cluster of Luster" by M&J's Quiltaways. This quilt is named "Alice" as in "To the Moon, Alice!" Oddly, every time I think of the title of this quilt, Tom Waits' song "Alice" (which has nothing to do with the quilt) runs through my head. So while "Alice" comes from "to the moon Alice", I always hear "And the wind whispers 'Alice'".

Quilt detail. I outlined the planets from the fabric. Rockets are based on rockets detail from backing fabric.

Quilt detail. Freeform planets in green sections. Rockets based on backing fabric pattern.

Quilt detail. These sections were quilted by outlining rockets from the reverse side.

Quilt detail and binding. Borders have outline quilting on the red circles. Quilt is self-bound by hand.

Backing. Backing fabric features rockets. You can see quilt detail from reverse side here.

Graduation

2010-10-07T16:32:00.000-04:00

Today was my one month post-op visit with Dr. Godin. He says all looks perfect in my nose and I do not need to return to him unless I have any future issues.

How am I feeling one month later? The left side still feels a bit more congested than the right but overall I can breathe freely through both nostrils. I continue to rinse my nose twice daily; the crusting is mostly gone and nothing horrid comes out anymore. There is still some tenderness in my nose, particularly around the septum; Dr. Godin tells me it takes 6-8 weeks for the septum to heal up completely so I am not worried about this. It is not bothersome enough to take any Tylenol most days, although on rainy days it aches a little more. I have regained most of the feeling in my front teeth.

In the past 2 weeks I have slowly returned to working out, although I am not yet back up to full weights or full cardio heartrate. I suspect over the next week or 2 I will be back to where I was pre-surgery. (And provided my budget works out, I expect to be back at kickboxing by January at the latest.)

One odd thing: When I had laparoscopic surgery 9 years ago, one thing I never thought about was that my belly button would be a different shape afterward. It's not a big deal, it's not anything anyone would notice, but *I* know it is different. After this recent surgery I noticed that my left nostril is slightly different inside than it was. Again, this isn't anything anyone looking at me would notice and it does not make any difference in my ability to breathe or in my appearance, but *I* know it is different.

Goodbye!

2010-09-30T10:09:00.001-04:00

I'm deleting my twitter and posterous accounts. I could go into a long explanation but the short version is this: twitter doesn't work for me and I no longer need posterous for cross-posting. If you want to stay in touch with me, join me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/thegreencat. If you want to continue to read my blog, you can find it (and its RSS feed) here: http://tinyurl.com/thegreencat Please note that my blog will no longer be cross-posted to Facebook either so you'll have to read it at the source or the feed.

Day 13 Post Op

2010-09-22T19:35:00.001-04:00

This one might be a little gross for some folks so head on over to the cute kitty site if you don’t wanna hear about it!

I had another post-op check up with Dr. Godin today. I told him I was feeling good mostly. I’ve been feeling congested in the left nostril and feel like it doesn’t completely come clear, even with the nasal rinse. (I didn’t tel him I’d been looking up my nose with a flashlight on a regular basis and so I knew there was a gross hunk of what appeared to be crystallized snot far back in that nostril.) I’ve also had some post-nasal drip the past 2 days (which I suspect is related to the congestion). Teeth numbness persists. Slight aching (1 on the pain scale) in my nose (I suspect from the septum).

He looked up my nose and immediately got out the nose vacuum. This is kind of like a dentist’s suction tool only it has a lone narrow metal tube on the end, about the size of a plastic coffee stirrer. He cleared out the “crusting” in both nostrils. It felt like he was vacuuming all the way down my throat! Quite unpleasant but the results were that I immediately felt clearer.

Dr. Godin says things are healing up very well and that it all looks good. He frowned when I asked about nose-blowing or sneezing. No go, yet. (I’ve been sneezing a lot this week and have been good about remembering to keep my mouth open so the rush of the air comes through my mouth and not my healing nose. It’s quite unsatisfying to sneeze this way.) He did clear me to go back to the gym for some light cardio and light weight lifting. (A friend tells me she was allowed to lift 50-75% of her normal weight when she went back to the gym after her hernia surgery so I figure this is a good baseline for me at this point.) I see Dr. Godin again in 2 weeks. In the meantime I continue to use the nasal rinse twice daily.

You did WHAT to pasta???

2010-09-19T17:52:00.000-04:00

The other day I was bragging about my pasta maker to an unimpressed coworker. I said "I can add whatever I want to the pasta!" and he said "Like chocolate?" He was joking but I started thinking...hmmm... dessert pasta... So with the help of my friend Google, I found several recipes for chocolate pasta.

Here is the dough :

Dough getting rolled out:

Dough going into cutters...

and coming out...

Chocolate Fettucine!

A whole rack of drying pasta:

Getting ready for its bath:

In the water:

And ready to eat:

How was it? Well, it was odd. It has a slightly sweet, slightly chocolaty flavor with the texture of pasta. Alone it was fine. I also tried it with a little berry preserves on top and it was fantastic that way. This pasta definitely needs a sauce. I think it would be great with fresh whipped cream and fresh fruit too.

Day Ten Post Op

2010-09-19T15:52:00.002-04:00

First, in case you missed it, I’m including the photo of the splint. Yes, that was in my nose. It’s a soft silicone so it didn’t hurt coming out.

Things have felt pretty good since the splints came out. I’m still a little congested; I believe things are still a little swollen inside my nose. The crusting is a little uncomfortable and I am grateful for my twice-daily nose rinse. Rather than a neti pot, I decided to go with the NeilMed sinus rinse bottle (which was recommended by a number of friends). It is easy to use. The first day or so after the splints came out I was still rinsing a bit of blood out but things are mostly clear now.

My nose is a little sore in the tip; I believe it is the place where the stitch was holding the splint in place. I was also experiencing some pain in the left nostril where there was another stitch. It looked like clear nylon. The day after the splints came out I saw a similar piece of stitching rinse into the sink. Yesterday, while I did not see it, the painful stitch was gone.

Last night I started to feel some irritation in the lower part of my nose (where the turbinates were reduced). It wasn’t bad enough to take any Tylenol but it was a little uncomfortable. Today I am feeling a little of that as well.

My next follow up with Dr. Godin is Wednesday afternoon.

Splints are out!

2010-09-16T11:02:00.001-04:00

I saw Dr. Godin this morning to have the splints removed. The removal was pretty easy. He snipped the stitch that was holding the splints in place and then used a long tweezer to pull them out. I was prepared for how big they were but wow I can’t believe THAT was in my nose! I’ll post a photo later (yes, I asked the doctor if I could take one with me). It felt weird to have them pulled out but what a relief to have the splints out and have my nose cleaned. After pulling the splints (which were mucous and blood-clot covered) Dr. Godin used a little suction to vacuum my nose out (which felt great since I haven’t been able to blow my nose for a week). Immediately I was able to breathe out of both nostrils.

Dr. Godin numbed my nose and placed a scope in it to look around. He said everything looks like it’s healing up just fine. I asked him which procedure he had used on my turbinates (remember he said he was going to decide when he got into the operating room.) He said he did a sub-mucosal resection as my turbinates were too big for coblation.

Going forward, I need to rinse my nose twice a day. I’m not allowed to blow my nose for another week. I’m still not allowed to exercise much but he did clear me for some light exercise on a stationary bike. He said the odd feeling in my upper teeth could take 6 weeks to 6 months to clear up.

Leaving his office, it felt weird to breathe through my nose. It was slightly uncomfortable but I think that’s because the inside is still a little raw. Now that I’m in the office, breathing through my nose is much more comfortable. And, as I suspected, my taste is back to normal now that my nose is clear.

This one's gonna be a little gross

2010-09-15T11:35:00.001-04:00

so if you are tired of hearing about my nasal discharge, head on over to lolcatz http://icanhascheezburger.com/again and I’ll let you know when this blog gets back to recycling and sewing and exercise and stuff, ok?

I made it through yesterday’s full day of work ok. I was pretty tired by the time I got home and was actually huffing and puffing a little when I got off the subway. A friend of mine (who also had sinus surgery last week) reminded me that not getting enough air will do that. Right. Not enough oxygen=tired Cat.

I slept mostly well last night but was awakened several times by the sound of (sorry) mucous being sucked in and out of the upper passage of my nose. Yea that’s pretty, ain’t it? So annoying because I can’t blow my nose. The good news is that my right nostril, which up until now had been completely blocked, seems to have a little air going through as well. The left splint is still bugging me a bit. It’s not painful but I am aware of it (as opposed to the right one which I never feel). The raw spots on my cheeks (from the tape) have mostly healed up. My front teeth are still feeling funny. My lips are drying out—probably a combination of all the mouth breathing and the change in the weather. I’m feeling pretty out of breath today. Luckily my office mate is out today which means I will chat less at work so I’ll have my breath for customer calls. No pain today so I have not even taken a Tylenol.

I’m really looking forward to my 8:30am appointment tomorrow with Dr. Godin to have these splints removed! Not only do I want to see what it’s like to breathe through my whole nose, but I really want to get all this gunk out of my nose! More graphic details tomorrow but if you are curious about how big those splints are, watch this !

Day Five Post-op

2010-09-14T15:11:00.001-04:00

I'm back at work today. It's funny that everyone asks how I am while staring at my nose. Despite what I told them before hand they all say "Well it doesn't LOOK any different!" (Good since I didn't have a nose job!) or "Oh, you don't have any bruising!" (Right, because I didn't have that kind of surgery.).

I took an oxycodone to sleep last night but it didn't kick in right away so I was up for a couple of hours. When I slept, I slept well but I had to get up every few hours to drink and rinse my mouth. The mouth breathing is really drying out my mouth and throat. I had some post nasal drip last night too. Today I'm back on regular Tylenol. There's some discomfort but no real pain. My front teeth are still feeling funny. Numb? Sore? I don't quite know. There are little twangs of pain in my left nostril; I only feel them when I am trying to swipe up some of the leakage. Yea, I'm still bleeding a little bit and still have a runny nose. There is a little ache further up (probably my septum) but again, only if i touch my nose. I'm completely aware of the splint in my left nostril. The right side is still completely congested shut so I can't really feel the splint there.

My sense of smell and taste are coming back slowly. I can sometimes smell things. I sense that I'm really smelling them through the back of my mouth since my nose is so stopped up. Sometimes I can actually tell what I'm smelling; sometimes I'm just aware that there is a smell there. Last night I walked past a chicken place and smelled the cooking chicken. This morning I smelled cigarette smoke on my way to work. I used some Purell and I know it was scented but I couldn't tell you what it smelled like. I had my first cup of coffee this morning since before the surgery. I could only taste the fat in the milk. Same thing for the half cup I had later at the office. For lunch I had a chicken-curry-coconut-mango-raisin sandwich. I only tasted the curry. I imagine my taste/smell will come back as the congestion goes away.

What to do with those drugs...

2010-09-13T18:31:00.001-04:00

Yeah, yeah, joke if you must, but unused prescription drugs are a hazard. You should never keep unused prescription meds around (even if you think "Oh, I might want those painkillers later"). It's not worth the risk of an accidental poisoning or overdose. The problem is, what to do with them. You shouldn't flush them because that just leads to meds in our water system. And you shouldn't just toss them because animals (or other humans) could dig them out of the trash and ingest them.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recommends that you refer to printed material accompanying the medication for specific instructions. Most prescription drugs should be mixed with an undesirable substance (such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter) and put in impermeable, non-descript containers (such as empty cans or sealable bags) before discarding them in the trash.

On September 25, DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. This includes outdated or expired or unused prescription and non-prescription medicines. To find a drop off location near you, go to http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/

Day Four post-op

2010-09-13T09:52:00.001-04:00

I switched over to Tylenol yesterday afternoon. Last night I did not take any pain killer before bed. Woke up this morning with cramping pains in my hip and lower back. I'm chalking that up to 3 days of inactivity and sitting on my too-soft couch. Nose is still runny (bleh!). Despite the runny nose I'm going to try a bit of activity today in preparation for returning to work tomorrow. I've already managed a shower and breakfast and have changed the sheets on the bed. This afternoon promises another trip to the drugstore as I'm nearly out of tissues (I don't generally keep tissues around since I use handkerchiefs but the amount of disgusting stuff coming out of my nose the past few days definitely removes any eco-guilt from using disposable tissues!), and maybe a side trip to the post office and the library.

Skraptacular is coming up in September. Contact Michelle for more info.

2010-09-12T19:47:00.001-04:00

Skraptacular will have a larger than life presence at the Maker Faire. Our main objective will be to encourage all the attendees at the faire to reduce their waste. We will do this in a fun, creative and interactive way.
WE NEED Visual artists, and Performing artists to join in the fun.

The performers can make up cheers and songs about the Skraptacular key message Reduce, Reuse RETHINK and Recycle.
The performers will be encouraged to roam the event with Skraptacular messages on signs and sing songs about waste reduction to attract as much attention as possible.
On Saturday Sept. 25th we will have 20 minutes of stage time on the NPR science cabaret stage for our grand finale.
Following that we will end the day with the Skraptacular parade.

On Sunday there will be a parade at 5pm with Bash the Trash
We will have an audience.......17-30,000 people are expected to attend the Maker Faire

All performers will have a free pass into the faire.

Please let me know if you would like to volunteer by september 17th so I can put you on the guest pass list.

Skraptacular meet-up and rehearsals

Monday September 13th

Fort Tryon Park on the lawn next to New Leaf Cafe

3:30

Skraptacular sign-making day

Wednesday september 15th

Fort Tryon Park on the lawn next to New Leaf Cafe

3:30

Skraptacular meet-up and rehearsals

Thursday September 16th

Questions about the meet-ups please call

Michelle Del Guercio

917 699 8136

Three Days Later

2010-09-12T13:29:00.001-04:00

It's 3 days post surgery. The swelling has gone down quite a bit. Today I'm going to attempt to go a full day without gauze taped to my nose. The bleeding is mostly gone with just some mucous. It's still like having a big stuffy cold (except I'm not allowed to blow my nose). My front incisors are still a little sore and I'm feeling the occasional thrum of pain from my lower turbinates but it's mostly manageable. I'm still mouth-breathing which results in terrible dry-mouth while I sleep. I've decided to take tomorrow off from work to give my nose an additional day to (hopefully) stop leaking. Nothing to do at this point but rest, heal, and wait for Thursday morning when the splints come out.

The big day

2010-09-11T17:28:00.002-04:00

Thursday morning Chris took me down to Phillips Ambulatory Care Center in Union Square. We arrived at 8 and filled out my paperwork (where Chris had a little chuckle over having people call me "Catherine"--I hadn't thought about it before but since I don't use my full name on a daily basis most of my friends aren't used to hearing it). About 9:00 I was taken inside where I was given my my cotton gown, pants, robe and rubberized socks. I stowed my stuff in a locker but was told to keep my book as I still had to wait for my 10:00 "reservation". Shortly after I met with a nurse who checked my vitals and gave me a couple of squirts of Afrin. I had a little laugh when she did the math from my last period and started to say they would take a urine sample and then corrected herself as she looked at my chart again and said "Oh, well, I guess that won't be necessary!"

I went back into the pre-op waiting area to read. I struck up a conversation with a couple of others ladies who were waiting also for surgery (and wearing the same outfit as me--imagine the odds!). One was having a ganglion cyst removed from her wrist. She laughed about how it didn't look so bad but since she'd recently had a baby, all that carrying was making it really hurt on a regular basis. She pondered how much she was going to be able to do after the surgery and how uncomfortable it was going to be to hold her baby for breast-feeding. I didn't envy her!

The other woman was having knee surgery. About a year ago she was walking down the sidewalk when a truck ran a red light and struck another car which went out of control and hit her. She broke her tibia and fibula. She just got off crutches 4 months ago but was now having some surgery to repair the ligaments in her knee. Owie!

When I was finally called I wished the 2 ladies luck and went into another room. I saw my doctor (who was looking pretty good considering he had just finished another surgery!) and spoke with a nurse who double checked my name and birthdate and what procedure I was having. She told me they would do that again in the operating room. She took my vitals again and I remembered that one of the things that stuck with me from my last surgery was how often my blood pressure was taken.

I met my anesthesiologist who also double checked my name and birthdate and procedure. (OKAY THIS IS THE POINT WHERE SQUEAMISH FOLKS SHOULD GO LOOK AT http://icanhascheezburger.com/ FOR A WHILE!) The anesthesiologist explained that he would give me an IV which would slowly put me to sleep. He told me I'd be breathing on my own but that he'd put a piece of plastic into my throat to make sure it stayed open during the procedure so I should not be concerned if I had a slight sore throat afterward.

At about 10:15 I was taken down to the operating room (and handed my little paper hat on the way). I got on the operating table where another nurse once again asked my name and birthdate and procedure I was having. The first nurse put a "Bair Hugger" over me--basically a big plastic blanket that fills with warm air--to keep me warm. My doctor said hello again and the then anesthesiologist put the IV in my arm. Within a few minutes I felt lightheaded and then, well, I took a nap.

The procedure took about 90 minutes. I was aware of being moved from the OR table to a gurney. I woke up shortly thereafter in post-op. The nurse told me that all went well and that someone had been out to tell Chris I was out of surgery and everything was good. Amazingly I didn't feel all that groggy or in pain. I was cold and had the shakes pretty bad. (I remember this happening the last time I had anesthesia also). The nurse wrapped me in another Bair Hugger. I was also thirsty but drinking was difficult since my nose was packed solid so I could not swallow all that well. My front incisors were also a little sore.
Chris was allowed to come back and see me for a bit and it was good to have him there. A short time later I was moved from the gurney to a chair and was allowed to drink a little ginger ale (which was still difficult). The nurse showed Chris and me how to change the gauze bandage that was taped under my nose to catch the excess blood and as soon as I felt able I was permitted to get up and change back into my street clothes. We took a cab home and I almost immediately went to sleep.

Chris stayed with me on Thursday during the day and my friend Jovena came and babysat me Thursday night while Chris was in class. Mostly I slept. I got up about once every 30-60 minutes to change the bandage (the leaking bandage was usually the thing that woke me up). I tried to drink some water and ginger ale but swallowing was still difficult. Taking a pain pill was so uncomfortable! I managed to eat a couple of teaspoons of applesauce. Sleeping was interesting. I propped myself upright on 4 pillows and was mostly able to rest. Occasionally I would wonder "what's that odd sound" only to realize it was me wheezing and snoring.

Friday morning Chris and I headed down to the doctor's office. As my doctor was taking the day off for the holiday I met with Dr. Colen who removed the packing from my nose. I had heard that this would be the most painful part and that it would feel like that magician's trick with the scarves (you know, where they just keep coming out of seemingly nowhere?). Well Dr.Colen explained that Dr. Godin had not used that kind of packing, and while it would be uncomfortable, it would be quick. She removed the bandage from under my nose and snipped the strings that were tied together under it (yes, just like tampon strings). She then took a forceps and pulled the packing out of one side. It was like blowing the biggest wad of congested mucous out of your head during a cold. It felt gross and uncomfortable but was over faster than I could really process it. She asked me if I was ready to do the second one and I said "Go ahead! It won't get any more comfortable if I wait!" The second packing came out much like the first. Dr. Colen suctioned a little blood and mucous out of my nose and ten let me rest for a bit. She redressed my nose and said the bleeding should taper off over the course of the next day. I made an appointment for next Thursday to have the splints removed. My friend Susan met me and brought me home.

Susan and I went out for breakfast. Now that I could finally breathe through my nose a bit, I was able to swallow. I had eggs and home fries. I couldn't taste anything but it felt good to be able to drink and eat finally. I also managed to eat some oatmeal for dinner.

I slept okay last night--upright again as my nose was still seeping a little bit. I'm still mostly mouth-breathing but I did hear some of the "whistling" that I have read is a common complaint from people with nasal splints. (Poor Chris hasn't had a decent night's sleep in days!) The bleeding has tapered off but is still slight. I'll be happy when it stops. Right now it feels like I have a runny nose but I can't blow it so that's annoying. Also, despite using Transpore tape for the nose bandages, my cheeks are bright red from the adhesive so I'm looking forward to being able to get them to heal up.

I called Dr. Godin around 9:30 this morning to ask about the bleeding. He reassured me that the slight bleeding I was having was normal but that I should not hesitate to phone him again if I had any other concerns. Today I managed a bowl of cereal this morning and just had some pasta for dinner. I don't have any appetite but I know I need to eat so I can keep up my energy and heal. My big venture out today was to buy more gauze pads (since my nose is still leaking mucous and some blood), drop off an Etsy sale at the post office and pick up another movie at the library. I got some funny looks with the gauze pad taped to my nose. My other big accomplishment is that I napped sleeping horizontally today. It felt so good to fully relax.

Tomorrow

2010-09-08T17:15:00.004-04:00

I go under the knife at 10. I expect to be home and hopped up on oxycodone by 3. My dear sweet boyfriend will be my babysitter during the day and I've got friends on call to babysit tomorrow night if needed. I'm looking forward to being able to breathe!

BIRDHOUSE!

2010-09-06T16:34:00.002-04:00

For the past week or so I've been hearing birds chirping at night. It's beautiful and I love it. I just noticed this huge new birdhouse in the neighbor's backyard. I wonder if that's what's attracting the new birds. (I also just noticed that the other neighbor is apparently stockpiling empty beer bottles. wtf?)

New listings in the shop!

2010-09-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

New FlipFlaps in the shop!

and more!!

Progress on Indian Road playground

2010-09-05T14:08:00.001-04:00

paid up

2010-09-02T15:02:00.001-04:00

I just phoned my cc info in to the surgical coordinator to pay my deductible on the surgery; she assured em I would not be charged until AFTER I had had the surgery--gee thanks! A week from now I expect to be out cold on pain meds but 2 weeks from now I expect to be breathing free! I also set up my day-after appointment to have the packing taken out of my nose. Dr. Godin will be out of the office that day for Rosh Hashanah so Dr. Colen will remove the packing. (I wonder how many times a day she has to deal with "Oh, you're a doctor? Proctology?")

and away we go!

2010-09-01T15:18:00.001-04:00

I just received notice from the surgical coordinator that my insurance has approved my surgery and will cover it at 100% (less my deductible). Yay!

Cute turtle sculpture in garden near Isham Park

2010-09-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Big coffee grinder on Arthur Ave

2010-09-01T11:58:00.001-04:00

The little chicken at "Cow and Chicken"

2010-09-01T11:55:00.001-04:00

DRUGS!

2010-08-30T15:15:00.001-04:00

I picked up my post-surgery prescriptions this morning. Cefdinir as an antibiotic and Endocet for pain. Yeah, that's got oxycodone in it. No, I'm not sharing.

Seeing that my doc prescribed oxycodone makes me think I'm going to be in a lot more pain than I thought. Then again, whenever I'm prescribed pain medication I usually only need it for a few days and can swiftly switch over to just acetominophen so perhaps it won't be too bad. I'm hoping to not have to take these beyond a few days as I'd like to be cleareheaded enough to return to work on the Monday after surgery. (No, you still can't have any.)

Upon the recommendation of several friends I picked up the NeilMed sinus rinse bottle and packets. My doctor told me that I'll need to use a nasal rinse once the splints are removed (a week following the surgery). I plan to do a test run with this tonight so I know how it works and what it feels like when I'm healthy. This way there will be less surprises when I'm recuperating.

At Taikoza concert in the park

2010-08-29T19:06:00.001-04:00

Halloween Quilt!

2010-08-29T16:02:00.001-04:00

I'm always drawn to Halloween fabrics. This year I decided to give in and buy some figuring I'd make a Halloween quilt or something (even though I have no idea what I'll DO with a Halloween quilt as I don't do any seasonal decorating).

I bought most of the fabric for this quilt in Lancaster County PA. Some I bought when Sherry and I went to the AQS show this spring and the rest I bought while I was back for a Quiltaway earlier this summer. I think I may have bought some of the fat quarters in NJ with Sherry but I'm not certain. The funny thing is that at least 3 of these fabrics I had FQs for but I ended up buying and using yardage for the quilt.

I really liked the quilt that we made at the spring Quiltaway so I decided to use that pattern for this quilt. It's called Lancaster County Crossroads. Pattern is available from M&J's Quiltaways.

Here is the top all together plus some fabric detail photos (I love the little spiders). I don't plan to quilt it just yet as I still have to finish that "Alice" quilt from last year's Quiltaway and Danielle's quilt from the previous year's Quiltaway (and that double Irish chain I hope to one day put on my bed, and the quilt from this year's Quiltaway... Perhaps I SHOULD take up machine quilting....)

See the full gallery on posterous

Indian Road playground is coming along!

2010-08-29T11:27:00.001-04:00

Who uses a Neti Pot?

2010-08-28T18:20:00.001-04:00

My ENT has told me I'll need to use a Neti pot or another nasal irrigation system after the surgery. I have never used one. I have heard some folks swear by them so I'd like to know some specifics from folks who use a Neti pot (or another nasal irrigation system).
1. What do you use?
2. Where did you buy it?
3. Is it ceramic or plastic?
4. Do you buy pre-mixed packets or do you make your own saline mix?
5. Any advice for someone using it for the first time? (Yes, I plan to get one and use it before the surgery so I know what I'm doing afterward!)

Thanks folks!

Halloween Quilt with first border

2010-08-27T09:15:00.001-04:00

I haven't decided on the outer borders yet. I've got a lot of Halloween fabric. Hmmm I wonder how that happened?

The pattern is Lancaster County Crossroads from M&J's Quiltaways.

Textiles Recycling in Times Square September 15th

2010-08-24T15:56:00.002-04:00

DATE(S) & TIME(S)
September 15th , 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location
Duffy Square (46th Street and Broadway)
DESCRIPTION
We'll be collecting gently used clothing and costumes from shows and fans. All items are being donated to Wearable Collections, which will find ways to reuse or recycle 97% of what we collect and prevent these materials from going into landfill. Please visit us at the George M. Cohan statue in Duffy Square.
SPONSORS
The Broadway Green Alliance

Progress on Halloween quilt

2010-08-24T08:47:00.001-04:00

It won't be quilted by Halloween but I will have the top done before then!

In the Studio

2010-08-23T20:24:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a Halloween quilt.

Awesomeness!

2010-08-19T16:29:00.002-04:00

While I still hate the overworked/rude staff in my PCP's office, I do adore my PCP (Dr. Karen Galichon). She just called me personally to tell me all is good with my pre-op tests and she is sending the all-clear over to my surgeon. W00t!

What to compost

2010-08-18T22:55:00.002-04:00

When I recently mentioned to a friend that I was adding my hair to my vegetable scraps for the compost pile, she said "I didn't know you could compost hair!" Last weekend I stopped by the Inwood Hill Nature Center and picked up a card detailing what you can and can't drop in their compost bins. I thought it would be useful to share, particuarly for all you urban composters using public drop-offs at parks and greenmarkets:

What to Compost: Note that most drop off sites prefer you to chop your items into 1" pieces for speedy decompostition.

Fruit and vegetable scraps (fruit rinds and cores, etc)
Coffee grounds, paper filters, tea bags
Breads and grains
Crushed egg shells
Food soiled paper towels, napkins and paper plates
Grass clippings, plant trimmings and cut flowers (before they seed)
Hay, straw, old potting soil, fresh and dried leaves
Dead plants, dried flowers, bouquets
Small branches cut into 2" or smaller pieces
Animal fur, human hair, nail clippings, dryer lint

What NOT to Compost:

NO meat, bones, fish, dairy, eggs, fats, oils, or grease
NO plastic, plastic bags, twist ties, rubber bands, etc
NO cat or dog waste
NO dead animals
NO large, thick or prickly branches
NO invasive weeds or weeds with seeds
NO pesticide-treated plants or grass clippings
NO diseased plants
NO treated wood or plywood sawdust or shavings
NO charcoal ash.

The Inwood Nature Center is open Wed-Sun 10am-4pm. Rangers are available if you have questions or call 212-304-2365.

Happy Composting!

ENT pre-op visit

2010-08-18T10:42:00.002-04:00

Today I met with my ENT again for my pre-op visit. I'm going to talk a little more in detail about the surgery in this post so if you are squeamish you might want to skip this one.
Dr. Godin reviewed the 2 procedures that he will perform and walked me through what will happen on the day of the surgery. Most of this I already knew.

The procedure itself will take about 90 minutes. I won't know what time my surgery is scheduled until the day before.
After entering the surgical chamber and lying down, I'll be given a general anesthesia via IV.
I'll fall asleep (If this is anything like my previous experience with GA, the anesthesiologist will ask me to count backward from 10 and I'll get to about 9 before I conk out!)
If you're squeamish and still reading you want to go look at pictures of fluffy bunnies right about now. Last warning!
Dr. Godin will slice open the mucosa and will reshape the septum to straighten it out.
Dr. Godin will reduce the turbinates either by coblation (burning) or cutting. He will determine which method is appropriate at the time of the surgery.
All of the incisions are made internally so there should be no external bruising (although that does happen in some cases)
After the surgery, a splint will be inserted in my nose and it will be packed. (I was surprised to hear about the packing. I have spoken with a couple of people who had this surgery years ago who told me the most uncomfortable part was the removal of the packing but that I wouldn't have to worry about that since dissolvable packing is used now. Apparently not in all cases!)
The first 24 hours I will experience some "oozing". Dr. Godin tells me this will lessen throughout the day and I should not worry unless I am bleeding profusely.
The day after the surgery I will return to Dr. Godin's office to have the packing removed. He says to me "Wear really crappy clothing that day." Apparently the removal of the packing can cause quite a bit of bleeding. Great! I'm excited to have extreme pain coupled with bleeding!! (not)
A week later Dr. Godin will remove the splints. (I watched a YouTube video of a guy having his splints removed so I am prepared for how BIG those splints will be.

Dr. Godin reviewed all of the risks associated with the surgeries. He also gave me the prescriptions for my antibiotics and painkillers so I can fill them in advance (thanks Doc!).
Now if only my PCP would fax the surgical release form over to my ENT I'd be on my way!

New FlipFlaps in process in the studio

2010-08-17T08:30:00.002-04:00

dotFIT and their plastic scoops

2010-08-12T21:39:00.001-04:00

Earlier today I ordered my second container of protein powder from dotFIT. I included a note asking if the plastic scoop could be left out of my order. You see, inside every container of protein powder is a plastic measuring scoop. It's got no markings so unless you measure it out, you don't know what one scoop equals. The directions for the powder tell you to use one or two scoops depending on what you are making.

The scoop is convenient. It's also #5 plastic. In NYC (as in many other places) #5 plastic can't be put in the residential recycling bins. What most folks would do is either a) throw it in the trash or b) toss it in with plastic recycling anyway. Both of these are bad options. I'll take my plastic scoop to a Gimme5 drop off point and recycle it there. (I'd stockpile them and send them back to dotFIT but I don't think it would do any good.

The good news is that I received an email just a little bit ago from Chad at dotFIT addressing my concerns but explaining that "the powder tubs are sealed at the factory where the powder is manufactured with the scoop in it so we cannot remove it. Each tub comes with a scoop." He did thank me for caring about the environment.

I sent Chad the following note:

"Hi Chad:

Thanks for responding to my question. I notice the scoop is a #5 plastic. Many places do not have curbside recycling for #5 plastics and so I imagine many of these scoops end up in the landfills. I wonder if it would be possible for you to discuss with the manufacturer the idea of not including a scoop. Since you offer a convenient subscription service you already know that there are folks who are enjoying your protein powders on a regular basis. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders what to do with extra scoops.

If it's not possible to have the scoops removed (and I do understand that would require a major change at the packaging facility) perhaps you could include some information on your site about recycling #5 plastics for folks who cannot recycle them curbside. The Gimme5 program run by Preserve Products has drop of locations in many stores and also allows for #5 plastics to be mailed in. You can see more about this program here: http://www.preserveproducts.com/recycling/gimme5.html

Thank you for your attention."

Hopefully I'll get some kind of positive response from dotFIT. I don't expect them to remove the scoops but it would be nice if they included some Gimme5 love on their website. Fingers crossed but not holding my breath...

Inwood Hill Community Compost Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Sunday

2010-08-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

Sunday, August 15, 11am-12pm
Inwood Hill Nature Center, W218 St and Indian Road
Learn about this community compost program and stay for fun activities at the Nature Center. Bring something to compost! Finished compost will be available while supplies last. Questions? Call 212-304-2365.

Enter the park at W218 St and Indian Road; follow the paved access road and enter the compost site just past the wigwam on your left.

I hear that Indian Road Cafe will be supplying free food and coffee! Check it out!

FlipFlap Sacks are flying off the shelves!

2010-08-11T20:41:00.000-04:00

Everyone loves the fact that I'm making these convenient little bags out of broken umbrellas. In the past week I've sold 25 FlipFlaps!

Did you know that FlipFlap Sacks com in both cotton and polyester fabrics? And did you know that you can order FlipFlaps in just about any size/dimensions? I'm happy to make up a special order and most special orders (depending on quantity) are ready to ship within a week.

Earlier this week I posted some new double-flap sacks

I use my FlipFlaps daily. In fact I had to make more for myself because I kept wanting to pull extras out of my stock. In the past week I've used them to hold homemade protein bars, edamame, carrots, rice cakes, nuts, a turkey burger and a peach! Check out the shop and get yours today!

Postponed but moving forward

2010-08-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

Monday I received an email from the surgical coordinator at my ENTs office telling me that the doc would NOT be operating on 8/26 so we need to change my appointment. After silently raging about this I got over it. I mean, it's not like my being upset would change the fact that the doc wasn't operating on the 26th. I didn't bother to ask why because it doesn't really matter. I mean whether he got a great deal on a flight to Aruba, or his sister is getting married, or his best friend needs help moving, it still doesn't change the fact that he's not operating on 8/26.

I rescheduled the surgery for 9/9. The surgical coordinator at the ENT's office (her name is Denise) is fantastic, by the way. Very sweet and helpful even though I'm sure she spends all day answering the same questions over and over. I need to bake her cookies or something when this is all over.

So yeah, surgery is now on 9/9. All of my pre-op tests (bloodwork and EKG) need to be within 30 days of surgery which means (you guessed it) the EKG that the cardiologist ran just last week is now moot. Luckily my appointment with my GP for the bloodwork was already scheduled for today which is still within 30days of the new surgery date so I had her run another EKG with the bloodwork. Everything checks out still and my doc agrees that I am ridiculously healthy. (Weird, huh, that I see so many doctors for being so healthy?)

Anyway, 9/9 is slightly less convenient for the surgery because my boyfriend will be back in school. I imagine I'll be spending a lot of time sleeping and popping pain meds but I may need some babysitting that weekend depending on how I feel and BFs schedule so if you are around and you don't mind blood (apparently I'm going to bleed rather profusely from my nose for a few days) let me know!

Back in Nasal News...

2010-08-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

I saw my cardiologist this morning and he has cleared me for surgery. In fact, despite my "leaky valve" he says he sees no change and I'm still (as I like to put it) ridiculously healthy.

He also said "I'm sorry I'll be out of town that day or I'd come visit you in the hospital." Funny guy, my cardiologist. I think he's still a little afraid that since I kickbox I'm going to randomly beat him up. To be honest, my cardiologist could do with a few kickboxing classes himself. Just sayin'...

Next up: Routine blood work with my GP.

Introducing Mariola!

2010-07-26T19:35:00.001-04:00

Introducing the Mariola Purse. Made from scraps of other projects, Miss Mariola is a true ReUse Purse. Check out her style in the Mariola Section.

If you'd like Mariola in another color, let me know. I'm happy to make a special order for you!

I love Freecycle for all sorts of reasons

2010-07-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

It keeps things out of the landfills which is a big concern of mine. It also connects people in sometimes lovely ways.

A few months ago there was an offer of Polyfil on my local list. Since I always need polyfil for the catnip mice I decided to respond. The owner was happy to give it to me. When I arrived, he showed me a large black garbage bag which contained 6 brand new bags of polyfil! He said he had overbought it for a project and now wanted it out of his apartment. I thanked him profusely and he was nice enough to tape up the bag for me so I could carry it to the train.

After staring at the bags of polyfil in my small living room for a couple of months I decided to get realistic. After all, I still have 3 pillows' worth of stuffing from a previous donation. So I crammed 2 bags into my closet and offered the other 4 up on Freecycle.

A woman contacted me and told me she's a dollmaker and that the polyfil would be a great help for doll-makers' event she was attending soon. Since I had no other interest I told her she could have 4 bags. Tonya arrived a little early on a hot afternoon and I helped her cram the 4 bags of Polyfil into her rolling cart.

The next day she sends me an email relating this story: On her way home she stopped off to have some food. Another woman came over and said "I hope I'm not being to personal but may I ask where you got the stuffing." The woman had brought her mom to the restaurant to celebrate her birthday and mom made pillows with stuffing which is why the woman asked. Tonya felt that since I had been so generous in giving her 4 bags, she would share the love and handed the woman a bag of polyfil. "Happy Birthday to your mom!"

The same day I had posted a wanted ad for a serger. I had little hope of getting one but I ask every month or so in the hopes that someone will have an old clunker that I can get repaired. I received an email from someone calling herself "WebFairy". She said "I have one. It's new in the box. I don't want to give it away forever, but would be willing to give it on extended loan until some magical but unlikely day I have enough room for sewing." It seemed like a joke. This couldn't be real. Someone wanted to give me brand new serger? I sent her a grateful but dubious reply. A few emails and some schedule coordination later and ...

TADA !

Yes, she was serious.

I'm not into magical mystical stuff but it's nice to think that giving the polyfil to Tonya and having Tonya share it with the Birthday Mom led to the "WebFairy" granting my wish!!

...and taxis on the inside!

2010-07-14T21:55:00.002-04:00

My new purse!

2010-07-14T21:54:00.002-04:00

With the city and the subway on the outside (plus an old-school token)

If my experiment works, this will show up in the shop as something cool!

2010-07-12T22:25:00.002-04:00

Electronics Recycling in Inwood THIS WEEKEND

2010-07-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

Inwood’s 3rd Electronics
Recycling Event
Saturday. July 17, 2010
10am—4pm

At the RING Garden
Riverside Drive near Dyckman/Broadway

Drop off your electronics (TVs, computers, radios, printers,
scanners, etc etc etc), batteries, and cell phones.

Fair Warning.

2010-07-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

Lion Skull with turbinates showing borrowed from http://nosleepingdogs.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/

As some of you know, I have decided to have nasal surgery in August.

I have been reading some personal blogs of folks who have had this surgery (along with discussing it with some others in person). I find that personal accounts can offer useful information that doctors sometimes omit.

So, interspersed with my usual blogging about sewing and the environment I'm going to talk about surgery for the next few months. I'll try to remember to put in warnings if I'm going to discuss anything particularly graphic but feel free to skip these posts if you are squeamish.

To begin with I want to talk about my sinus history and how I came to the decision to have surgery:

I've always been congested. For as long as I can remember I have carried tissues and Sudafed with me. I thought it was odd the number of times that I would blow my nose and someone would ask me if I was sick. "No" I would say with bewildered derision, "I'm just blowing my nose!" In fact, it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized that most people don't blow their noses unless they are sick or have allergies! I've also always been overly sensitive to artificial fragrances, perfumes, colognes, air fresheners, etc. Hot and cold air both make my nose run and get congested. Spicy food has the same effect. Alcohol routinely congests me. It makes me feel a little crazy sometimes. For example, sometimes a person will come into my office and I will feel sick with the overwhelming smell of his cologne. If he stays for a while I will have to excuse myself from the room. Later I will mention to my office mate that Mr. X was wearing a LOT of cologne. My office mate will frequently respond that he didn't even realize Mr. X had ANY cologne on.

Some years ago (I'm fuzzy on the exact dates of things but within the past 10 years) I started to experience an odd cough. It would feel as though my lungs were trying to squeeze all the air out of my lungs and it would sound like Muttley's laugh. My GP suspected allergies and put me on Flonase. She also sent me to an allergy/asthma specialist. This doctor ran me through a series of allergy tests (including 3 levels of pricking my skin with various common allergens); I reacted to none of them (meaning I am not allergic to dust mites, tree pollen, pet dander, etc). He also ran me through a series of breathing tests (one of which involved a computer image where I had to "blow" the little pigs' houses down--I kid you not!). Despite all of my breathing tests coming back normal, he diagnosed me with asthma and put me on a daily dose of albuterol. When the albuterol began to make my heart race, he dropped to usage to "as needed".

A number of years later I'm still having episodes of this wheezing cough--particularly when working out on a humid day or when outside in cold dry air. I'm using the albuterol as needed and taking Flonase daily. I am still not satisfied that I have either allergies or asthma. I start to notice some heart palpitations after minor exertion (like walking up a flight of stairs) and decide to see a cardiologist. He discovers a minor issue with my heart (leaky valve) and recommends that I get off the albuterol if I don't need it. I'm happy to oblige. Once I stop using the albuterol, I stop having palpitations AND wheezing issues. I'm still using Flonase and still experiencing occasional congestion. I still carry Sudafed with me at all times.

At my physical earlier this year I ask the GP if there are any long-term issues with using a nasal steroid every day. She says there are not any that she is aware of but recommends I see an ENT to see if he can discover the source of my congestion.

At my first ENT appointment, I discuss my history and various symptoms. I tells Dr. Godin that I have been tested for common allergens in the area and that I did not react to any of them. I also tell him about my overly sensitive nose. I feel a little crazy telling him all this until he informs me that I have a condition called "non-allergic rhinitis". Check it out; I'm not crazy.

At this first meeting, Dr. Godin also performs an endoscopy and tells me I have a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates which could be interfering with my breathing. He says surgery may be an option but he'd like to try me on Astelin for 6 weeks first.

I continue to take Flonase in the morning but am now also taking Astelin in the evening. The first time I take the Astelin (which is another nasal spray) I inhale too deeply, the medication shoots straight down my throat and I am miserable all night. The following night I inhale more carefully. The initial experience is a bitter aftertaste. This is followed by a slow dripping sweet taste (the medicine has sucralose in it). I realize I should take it about an hour before I want to go to bed so I do not have the medicine dripping into my throat when I lie down.

After a week of taking the medicine I find I am very tired. I'm needing a post-work/pre-dinner nap on a regular basis. After 4 weeks I am dragging so badly I decide to stop taking the medicine.

At my 6 week followup visit, Dr. Godin says (in his bright cheery voice) "So everything is good on the Astelin and you feel better?" I respond "No I hate the Astelin and I stopped taking it 2 weeks ago!" We go on to discuss the side effects and the fact that I did not feel the Astelin was doing anything for my congestion. Dr. Godin then tells me in detail about the recommended surgeries.

I asked him what sort of improvement I am likely to see and he tells me that I will likely breathe 90% better. Whoo! That sounds good to me. Heck, even if that is an overestimate and I'll breathe only 50% better I like it. I've done my own research since I last saw him so I know the risks are minimal. We discuss the procedures, the recovery time and some other details. I tell him to sign me up! (Ok, actually I said "Let's cut my nose open!")

The two procedures that I will have on August 26th are septoplasty and turbinate reduction. The septoplasty will straighten out my septum (incidentally, 80% of all adults have a deviated septum) and the turbinate reduction will reduce the size of the inferior turbinates. I will discuss my reaction to these procedures when I have them, but if you'd like to know more of the gory details of what these surgeries involve, go ahead and google them.

Summer E-Waste Recycling Days

2010-07-06T16:09:00.000-04:00

Inwoodites! July 17th e-waste recycling is at the RING!!

July 10, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
Tekserve, 119 West 23rd St New York, NY 10011

July 17, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
RING Garden at Riverside Dr btw Seaman Ave & Broadway, New York, NY 10034

July 18, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
Stuyvesant Town-14th Street Loop, please enter from 14th St & Ave A, event is on the right hand side, New York, NY 10009

July 24, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
Essex Street, on the eastside of Essex Street between Hester and Grand Streets, New York, NY 10002

July 25, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
Essex Street, on the eastside of Essex Street between Hester and Grand Streets, New York, NY 10002

July 31, 2010 | 10:00am - 4:00pm
Smith Street between President Street and Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

The Ecology Center will recycle electronic waste ("e-waste") from New York City residents. Bring your unwanted or broken electronics to the collection events to have them recycled responsibly. A list of acceptable materials can be found here. We do not accept home appliances such as microwaves or refrigerators and cannot accept any electronics from businesses. Registration is not required for this event.

"Totally rad seller"

2010-07-01T20:24:00.000-04:00

That's what one of my most recent buyers called me. She asked me for a special order of FlipFlap Sacks (8 bags in 4 colors) and I managed to get it together and get them made and out to her in less than a week. Now she will be able to make sandwiches for her family of four without using one-use plastic bags anymore.

Be sure to check out all the FlipFlap Sacks for sale in the shop. They are "totally rad"!

My tax dollars at work

2010-06-30T21:44:00.000-04:00

Carla Zanoni reports that the 1 train will be under construction for 2 years.

From the article:

MTA spokesman Marcus Book said that the MTA is planning to make travel as seamless and quick for commuters as possible during construction and urged riders to use the A train. Book said that the MTA has no plans to run more trains to make up for the increase in passengers at other stations and said that the line is already running at full capacity.

Are they kidding? I'm glad for the station rehab but how are folks supposed to get anywhere? The A is at "full capacity", no trains will be added and the 1 riders are supposed to take the A train. Um... Can someone exlain the laws of physics to Mr. Book? Specifically the "two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time" rule?

Your broken umbrellas at work!

2010-06-27T20:02:00.000-04:00

New FlipFlap Sacks in the shop!

Free Store for month of July in Chelsea

2010-06-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

FREE STORE AT YVON LAMBERT GALLERY

For the exhibition Christmas in July, part of Yvon Lambert Gallery will be
designated as a free store by Jonathan Horowitz. Please bring in stuff that you
can't use and take stuff away that you can. Accepting items now.

Christmas in July, curated by Simon Castets
July 1-31, tues-sat: 10-6
Yvon Lambert, 550 West 21st Street, tel. (212) 242-3611

(I know nothing further about this event but it sounds cool so I wanted to share!)

In the studio

2010-06-24T21:11:00.001-04:00

Candy Stripe FlipFlap sacks in progress

New FlipFlap Sacks in the works

2010-06-24T10:23:00.002-04:00

Be sure to keep your eyes on the shop. And if you have any broken umbrellas please hand them off to me :)

I've been featured in a Treasury!

2010-06-08T11:24:00.000-04:00

w00t! Check out all these cool Nautical items in MonkiVintage's treasury!

Thanks MonkiVintage!

Shop Update!

2010-06-03T22:09:00.000-04:00

FlipFlap Sacks have hit the shop. Both cotton and Blustery Day (reclaimed umbrella) varieties are available. I'll have more colors eventually but wanted to get some listed since they've been sitting around my Studio for a while now.

There's also a new tote bag

And a puzzle ball!

UPTOWN Recycling events coming up

2010-04-16T11:25:00.000-04:00

All kinds of recycling events going on this weekend and next. Clean out your closets and drop off your textiles, batteries, electronics, shoes, etc. (For info on events in other boroughs or downtown, check out www.grownyc.org)

Earth Week Extravaganza
Sunday, April 18, 10am-2pm
YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, 54 Nagle Ave b/t Broadway and Ellwood St
This free community event will feature exhibitions on gardening, recycling, climate change, cooking and more! Free giveaways, prizes and fun for all ages. Bring unwanted clothing and textiles for reuse and recycling.

East Harlem Earth Day Celebration
Thursday, April 22, 4pm-6pm
NYRP Target East Harlem garden (415 E 117th St. b/t Pleasant and 1st Ave)
This event will include workshops on planting apartment herb gardens, demonstrations on cooking locally, recycling, composting and other tips on living green and healthy on a budget. Residents will also be awarded green giveaways including reusable bags from Whole Foods Market and energy efficient light bulbs to help them on the path to low impact living. Hosted by the Nourishing Kitchen of NYC.

GetGreen: South Bronx Earth Fest
Saturday, April 24, 12pm-4pm
St. Mary's Park, St. Ann's Ave and 147th St
This third-annual intergenerational event celebrates our environment and the South Bronx community. The Earth Fest will help raise awareness on many sustainability issues and will include information and activities on recycling, reuse and other green initiatives. There will be numerous youth performances and an eco-centered music contest. Bring unwanted textiles and electronics to recycle too!

Go Green Washington Heights & Inwood Earth Week Celebration
Sunday, April 25, 12pm-4pm
Highbridge Park, Amsterdam Ave at 192nd St
Learn simple ways to green your lifestyle, enjoy live entertainment and fun activities for pets, families and kids. Bring your own bag to tote away free giveaways! You can also drop off unwanted clothing and textiles for reuse and recycling.

Riverdale Y Environmental Fair
Sunday, April 25, 10am-2pm
5625 Arlington Ave off 256th St
Recycle, Rejoice and Replant at this annual event. Celebrate the rainforest with activities from the Central Park Zoo, buy local blooms from Greenmarket growers and recycle just about everything, including: unwanted textiles such as clothing, towels and shoes; electronics (everything but TVs and small household appliances such as toasters, microwaves, vacuums, etc); CFL bulbs (unbroken); rechargeable batteries; used athletic shoes and Crocs. And bring usable, portable items to GrowNYC's Stop 'N' Swap, where you can pick up something free to take home and reuse. For more information visit www.RiverdaleY.org.

Terracycle pop up shop!

2010-04-10T17:32:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that Terracycle collects all sorts of things to upcycle the into other products and keep them out of the landfills (at least temporarily). You can join one of their "brigades" for credit or you can just send items directly to them.

One of my coworkers mentioned that there was a Terracycle pop-up store at Port Authority and so I decided to check it out today. They have a number of items for sale in the shop. I have to confess that the wristlets made from woven M&M bags are actually kind of cute! They've got a number of bags, corkboards, flower pots, and of course Worm Poop! They also have some items from RePlayground (a local company) which allow you to reuse items you already have and make them into something else!

Another exciting thing they have in the shop is drop-off bins for a number of items they collect. They have bins for the following: Neosporin tubes, Stonyfield yogurt cups, chip bags, cookie wrappers, Bear Naked products, Sharpies/Papermate pens, drink pouches, candy wrappers, and my favorite: CORKS! (Be sure to read up on their website about what items they take and how they accept them.)

I collect corks (some of you have added to my collection) so that I can mail them off to Terracyle. They take both real corks and synthetic ones. I get nothing out of this (in fact I h]pay for the postage) except for the knowledge of knowing that these items are not going directly to the landfill. Sooo... SAVE YOUR CORKS folks! The pop-up shop is there until May 1 so you can drop the (and any of these other items) off there. Or you can give them to me and I'll drop them off. After May 1 I'll still take your corks and ship them off when I have a full bag.

Additionally, my sister (who is a teacher in Tennessee) belongs to a number of the brigades, which allows her to raise money for the school. I've started eating protein bars again and I found out that my sister participates int the "Energy Bar" Brigade. I'll be saving up my (clean) protein bar wrappers to add to her brigade. If any of you also eats protein bars o a regular basis, feel free to pass off clean wrappers to me anytime. (Yea, you can shove them in my purse over at The Kilt or at one of Zaida's parties!) For these wrappers they accept:
"All energy, granola, nutrition, cereal and protein bars with an inner foil lining. We cannot accept wrappers that do not have the foil lining or candy wrappers."

Day One

2010-04-07T16:57:00.000-04:00

"But who will take care of you?" he asked. I was in my early 20s and was having a theoretical conversation with a friend about the future. Having just learned that I did not plan to have children and that it didn't concern me if I ever got married or not, he looked at me in astonishment and asked "But who will take care of you?"

Today I got up at 7am and walked over to Planet Fitness where I did about 20 minutes of arm/chest work on the weight machines. I came home, made a healthy breakfast (oatmeal and fruit) and got ready for my day.

Yesterday I mentioned to a coworker that I was changing my eating habits (eating more protein, less carbs and eating more frequently throughout the day) and workout routine (adding weight work to my kickboxing classes) so that I could lose about 20 pounds and gain some muscle. She said "You don't need to lose weight! You're so healthy!" Well, yes, I am healthy and I'd like to stay that way. Women over 40 tend to start to put on a little weight around the middle and I am seeing that. Most folks don't notice it on me because it isn't much. I'm not really concerned about the 20 pounds right now; I'm concerned that it will be 40 pounds in another 10 years.

It's not easy to change my habits. I've been an irregular eater and a lover of sweets all my life. But it will be far easier to change my habits now than it will be as I age. I also know that if I get fit and stay healthy, I will have a better quality of life as I age. I'll have a lower risk of many diseases and I'll be better able to recover my health should I be struck by a disease or illness.

Changing my habits now is not about vanity or how I'll look in a swimsuit this summer; it's about being able to retain my independence when I'm older. I'm doing this not for Cat-at-42, but for Cat-at-82.

Who will take care of me? I will!

Lancaster

2010-03-29T23:02:00.003-04:00

Sherry and I had a great time in Lancaster. We went out on Friday for the AQS show, spent Friday night at the AMAZING Lancaster Arts Hotel, and then meandered around Lancaster County to do some fabric shopping on Saturday.

Here's a little slideshow of the photos:
(Facebook readers, you'll have to click through to my blog to see this)

(Click this link if you want to see bigger photos)

Shower Curtains

2010-03-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

I'm looking at having to wash my plastic shower curtains again this weekend. And that has me thinking (again) about replacing them. I know that some folks use fabric curtains but I need a little help with the spcifics of this.

When I was a child, we had a fabric shower curtain but we also had a plastic liner. The fabric curtain was for decor and the liner was to keep the water from going all over the bathroom. For those of you that use fabric curtains:
--do you use JUST a fabric curtain?
--do you have a liner with it?
--if you have no liner, how well does the fabric curtain keep the water in the shower and off the floor?
--what kind of fabric is your liner made out of?

Any info is useful thanks!

Composting Uptown and Recycling in Manhattan this weekend

2010-03-15T15:07:00.001-04:00

Compost Grows in Washington Heights and Inwood
Saturday, March 13 and 27, 10am-1pm
Inwood Greenmarket , Isham St b/t Seaman & Cooper A number of residents and community organizations are working together to increase compost activity in this northernmost area of Manhattan. Stop by the compost information table at the Inwood Greenmarket this month to learn how to compost, find out more about new neighborhood compost initiatives and to sign up to get involved.

Lower East Side Stop 'N' Swap
Sunday, March 21, 11am-3pm
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center Inc.
107 Suffolk St at Rivington Kick off spring cleaning season at the Stop 'N' Swap! Free your closets of clean, working re-useable items you don't need anymore and take anything you can put to good use. Portable items only--no furniture or other large items please! Sponsored by GrowNYC in partnership with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's Go Green Lower East Side initiative. Visit www.grownyc.org/swap for more info.

Electronics Recycling Day
Sunday, March 21, 10am-3pm
District Office of Councilmember Gale Brewer
563 Columbus Ave at 87th St
Here's an even shorter blurb for the Per Scholas event: Bring your unwanted or broken electronics (no TVs) to Council Member Gale Brewer's day of E-Recycling with Per Scholas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community empowerment through technology and education. A $5 donation (or whatever you wish) is requested to Per Scholas to fund their recycling and training programs. For more information call 212-873-0282.

Sidetracked

2010-03-08T22:01:00.000-05:00

My apologies. I had planned to be consistent about posting a "There is No Away" blog piece every week but last week got away from me. On Saturday a week ago I injured my knee in the gym. The following Sunday I came down with a cold. So between ibuprofin and cold medicine, I just haven't been myself.

The cold is mostly gone now and the knee is healing. My physical therapist let me go back to the gym tonight and I managed not to hurt myself any further. I've still got about 3 weeks of PT to get through and then hopefully the knee will be strong enough to stop sending random stabbing pains through my kneecap.

I'll try to get back to writing later this week.

"If you smoke, please smoke Carlton."

2010-02-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

To be honest I had to look up the brand name but I have always remembered this slogan. I'm not advocating smoking here but I do like the spirit of this ad. It's not saying "Buy our product;" it's saying "If you already use a controversial, addictive and health-adverse product like ours, we'd like you to buy ours instead." Why am I bringing this up? Because I'm concerned about the reputation that recycling has.

Let's talk about juice: Now let's say that I'm the kind of person to buy single serve juice drinks--oh, wait, I'm not. Let's make up a character. We'll call her "Joan". Let's say Joan has a kid; we'll call him "Joe". Joan buys single-serve juice drinks in juice boxes because it's convenient for her to throw one in her briefcase or in Joe's lunch. So just about every day, Joan and Joe throw out a juice box or two. One day Joe comes home from school and tells Joan about this cool program from Terracycle where the school sends in empty juice bags and they get money back for supplies. Plus the bags get upcycled into purses. It's win-win, right?

Well, Joan thinks so too. Since the juice boxes Joan had been buying can't be recycle in her area, Joan decides to switch over to juice bags: It keeps some items out of the landfill, it brings revenue into the school, it helps the kids learn about planetary responsibility and it makes Joan feel good.

Now let's look at another set of fictional characters: Barbara buys juice in a big bottle. She sends her kid Bob to school with his juice in a reusable thermos. She herself caries a reusable bottle for water. Maybe she thinks it's cheaper. Maybe she thinks it's healthier. Maybe she thinks it reduces waste since she can't recycle those one-use juice boxes where she lives.

One day Bob comes home from school all excited. His friend Joe drinks his juice from a juice pouch and Bob thinks this is great! Not only is it cool to drink, but the bags get sent off to Terracycle for upcycling and the school gets money. So Barbara puts the thermos awy and starts buying juice bags. Hey, they aren't going ot the landfill so that's ok, right?

Well, Joan and Barbara, here's where i get back to the Carlton ad. Let's parse the ad, shall we? If you smoke, please smoke Carlton. IF you smoke--well, I don't smoke so I guess that ad doesn't aply to me. But IF I smoked they want me to smoke their brand.

Now imagine this ad is for juice: If you use single-serving juices, please use our brand whose packaging can be upcycled. Ok, well in my made-up world, Joan already used single-serving juices so switching to a brand whose packaging doesn't go to he landfill works. But Barbara was not already using single-serving juices. So she's gone from using something with less packaging to something with MORE packaging. And despite the fact that the packaging is being upcycled, it is still just a temporary delay in sending it to the landfill.

Marketing has made us feel god about recycling and upcycling but it is important to thin about the life-cycle of the product and the materials in the product. (By "product" here I mean both the thing you intended to buy and the packaging it comes in.) We should all start taking responsibility for all of the items we bring into our homes, including the packaging. We used to feel okay about throwing plastic bags away. Now we feel terrible eco-guilt about that but we feel ok if we use them once again for trash liners or if we send them off to be recycled (down cycled in this case) or if we iron them together and make other bags from them--the end result is the same regardless: at the end of its life-cycle that plastic will end up in a landfill.

Sending it off for recycling or upcycling does not absolve us of the responsibility of having used (and therefore created a need for) the plastic item in the first place. I'm not saying we should stop using these things completely. I think we need more awareness. The trash can used to be our "away". Now the recycling can is. But there IS no "away". No matter what bin you tos it in, that item still exists on the planet.

*Please note I am not knocking the Terracycle upcycling programs. I think this company is great and I thin their ideas for upcycling of packaging waste is ingenious but I do worry that having programs like this in place can make us complacent in our waste. IF you use a product whose packaging can be upcycled by Terracycle, please do support them!

This article is part of the series "There is No Away", a group of posts about one Manhattanite and her trash. As always, if you would like to know how I deal with the trash associated with any issue, please ask!

Heather Rogers and recycling

2010-02-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

I've recently finished reading Heather Rogers' "Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage". She says a number of things much more eloquently than I do so I'm quoting liberally from the book here. Please go out and read this book on your own!

Here's a point I've tried to make in the past (and will probably try to make again in the future): We've been trained to feel good about recycling so we don't think about the fact that we are wasting. I don't feel so bad about buying that iced tea in a glass bottle because the bottle can be recycled. The idea of recycling distracts us from the environmental impact of one-use container. Ms. Rogers writes: "While offering real and substantial benefits, recycling has also functioned in cultural terms to divert public attention away from stronger reforms. The promise of recycling further normalized growing consumption, telegraphing to the public that even in the act of discarding one could be environmentally responsible; tossing the empty bottle, the once-used piece of paper, or the cereal box into a special bin took the guilt out of so much wasting. Recycling also became a vehicle for manufacturing to reinvent itself as an environmentally responsible caretaker of the planet, unleashing a new phase in corporate greenwashing." p.158

And if you are feeling good about how you sort our recyclable plastic, think again. Ms. Rogers writes: "Once states adopted the plastics codes, resin packaging was stamped according to its grade, but, significantly, it was also embossed with the recycling symbol. Indicating nothing specific about recycling, plastic packaging bearing the triangular symbol misleadingly telegraphed to the voting consumer that these containers were recyclable and perhaps had even been manufactured with reprocessed materials themselves. But often neither was the case.

"While the code numbers did indicate various types of plastics in the broadest sense, there were (and are) so many critical variations within those categories that this system's efficacy was (and remains) questionable. And, crucially, these grades did not create a sorting system truly useful for producers, since resin makers must categorize discarded plastics based on how they're made, regardless of their code number. As a result, not only was SPI's grading scheme a hollow substitute for real, meaningful programs, but by the early 1990s these stamps were criticized by some recycling centers as undermining environmental goals, creating public confusion over what was actually recyclable, and driving up costs for local facilities that were left to handle these wastes.

"In 1993, the Environmental Defense Fund slammed plastics makers over their measly recycling numbers, charging that the rate of recycling 'did note even come close to keeping up with increased production of virgin plastic....' Just four years later, new plastics production outpaced resin recycling by nearly 5 to 1. Thanks to the polymer trade's astute green marketing, however, most Americans believed otherwise." pp174-175

And while we are busily sorting trash in our kitchens and garages, we are still being duped into feeling good. "As recycling fever spread, more Americans believed they were helping reverse environmental decline, but the truth was not so simple." p176

We recycle things so they don't go to the landfill but it just isn't always true. "People started believing that their trash was now benign. Today it's likely that more Americans recycle than vote--yet greater amounts of rubbish are going to the landfills and incinerators than ever before. Far better than directly sending discards to be burned or buried, recycling nevertheless has serious flaws.

"Just because materials are hauled away in a recycling truck doesn't mean that they actually get reprocessed. Almost half of discarded newspapers and office paper is burned or buried, while two-thirds of glass containers and plastic soda and milk bottles are trashed instead of recycled. If wastes are remade, they immediately hit the hurdle of 'downcycling.' All substances, except for some metals, lose their molecular integrity during reprocessing, eventually rendering them unusable. For example, each time it gets recycled, paper's long fibers break, becoming shorter and less able to hold together. Similarly, remelted glass loses its workability and durability with successive reprocessing. The least recyclable of packaging materials, plastic, loses its infrangible flexibility when made molten again. Also, synthetics are highly sensitive to contamination, so even trace levels of a different type of resin, say a stray laundry detergent cap mixed with milk jugs, can mean that the whole lot gets trashed. (A homogenous type of plastic, sat PET with no contaminants, downcycles less rapidly.) Moreover, a huge proportion of virgin resin must be mixed in to reinforce the weakened plastic to create a useful substance. Because of downcycling, recycling had inherent technical limits.

"Also, many 'recyclables' are remanufactured only once. The most common type of plastic reprocessing in the United States uses recovered resins to produce new commodities that are usually not recyclable themselves like fleece, car bumpers and synthetic lumber. After they wear out, these recycled products must be burned or buried. So, while it might sound neat that used water bottles get remade into sweatshirts, these items' lifespan ins finite--thus failing to form a 'closed loop' of recycling." pp176-177

And, of course, we all want the latest and greatest electronic gadget. Our phones are made to wear out after 2 years and it's easier to buy a new one. But we can just recycle the old one so that's good, right? "Perhaps the most malignant and abundant exported trash today is 'e-waste,' obsolete electronics like VCRs, CD players, televisions, computers, cell phones and fax machines. Rich in heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury and zinc; toxic solvents; PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls); and other hazardous materials, e-waste is virulent stuff. And there's so much of it. The electronics industry, most notably producers of cell phones and personal computers, has brought built-in obsolescence to dizzying new heights. Not only is it practically impossible to get replacement parts for a cell phone, anyone caught talking into a bulky model that's more than a dozen months old risks public humiliation. And forget finding technical assistance for a computer that's been around for more than a few years. The pressure and enticement to consume even more electronics as ever-faster rates, thanks to unrelenting fashion and technological innovations, are fueling a vast new garbage boom.
"The current industry-projected lifespan for personal computers is about two years. Today, there are over 100 million people using PCs in the United States alone. Since 1997 the country has produced a tidal wave of junked laptops, monitors and hard drives estimated in excess of 300 million. And, in addition to PCs, 3.2 million tons of other high-tech hardware gets tossed every year. Most defunct monitors contain between four to eight pounds of lead and are now the source of 40 percent of all lead in U.S. landfills. Some 70 percent of all heavy metals found in U.S. landfills come from discarded electronic components like wires, circuit boards and metal casings." pp201-202

"Some reports reveal that between 50 and 80 percent of e-wastes collected for recycling the United States are sold to dealers who export it to developing countries for dismantling. Even if American consumers pay a premium to recycle their PCs, there's no guarantee of safe, proper treatment. Disposal and recycling of e-waste in developing countries is a sometimes illegal, typically unrestricted, environmentally nefarious endeavor forced on the poorest workers who, according to a Seattle Times report, use 'hammers, chisels and bare hands to break and sort computer parts.' While the idea of recycling discarded electronics might sound good, the reality in many overseas plants is a nasty coalescing of human health hazards and environmental destruction." p203

Ms. Rogers' book covers waste from the early settlements in the US to current day. I thin it is important for all of us to know and think about where our waste goes. As I keep saying, there IS no "away". And recycling might make us feel good but it isn't a cure-all. Reduction of waste should really be our first step. Yes, I believe you should recycle rather than landfill, but I believe reduction and reuse should come first.

Composting

2010-02-15T14:59:00.001-05:00

A year ago I wrote a post about urban composting. According to the Lower East Side Ecology Center: "The average New York City household throws out over two pounds of food waste per day, amounting to over 3,000 tons of organic matter that must be trucked off to distant landfills." Wow! That's a lot of waste!

It is important to reduce food waste in our lives. Taking only what you will eat, buying only what you will use, using the food you buy and not letting it go bad: all of these are important steps. But what about food waste that is not consumable? Eggshells, tea bags, vegetable rinds, etc. Another useful way to keep food waste out of the landfills is to compost. If you have a garden, I recommend setting up a home composter. If you don't have the space for this (ie you live in an apartment) check out your local community gardens and see if any of them have a composter available for public use. Here in Inwood, there is a local community garden with composters that anyone can use. The garden is not open all the time but members of the garden may request a key to obtain access anytime.

It's easy to compost, even if you live in an apartment. I keep a bag in my freezer (usually an old non-recyclable plastic bag, like a chip bag) to hold my compostable scraps. I drop in coffee grounds, eggshells, vegetable peelings, dead leaves from my house plants, anything that is compostable. When the bag is full (usually I fill 2 bags) I take it over to the garden and dump it in the composter. Since the community garden relies on all of us to pitch in, I give the composter a stir and add water or leaves from the garden as needed. It's pretty easy to do.

Composting keeps a valuable resource from the landfills. We have become a society that does not see the value in many items. We view them as "trash". If we view these kitchen scraps as a valuable source of vitamins and minerals that can replenish the earth which grows our foo which provides US with vitamins and minerals, we can start to see the VALUE in them and stop viewing these scraps as trash.

The Price of Our Choices

2010-02-06T11:36:00.001-05:00

I don't have a "There is no away" post completed this week but I do have some other thoughts to share. The January 2010 issue of The Sun Magazine has an interview with biologist and expert on environmental causes of cancer Sandra Steingraber. A number of things she mentions struck me. Here are a few:

Steingraber says:

Linoleum used to be made of linseed oil and jute. It was ideal for hospitals because bacteria can't live on it. Today what is sold as linoleum is actually vinyl flooring made of PVC. Vinyl is cheaper up front than linoleum, but linoleum is actually cheaper in the long run because it lasts longer. The problem is that we don't manufacture it anymore in the US. We have to bring it in from Europe, and that raises the price even more. But we would make it here if there were enough demand. I think hospitals are in a great position to create that demand, because they make large purchases. Not just hospitals but churches, public schools, and office buildings have an obligation to embrace the least-toxic alternative and create a market for safe, sustainable materials.

Interesting point. Linoleum is cheaper and healthier and more natural but because we have replaced it with a seemingly cheaper material (vinyl) in this country, it is no longer made here. Therefore the cost of linoleum (because we'd need to ship it from overseas) IS now more. I think this is an important point about supply and demand. If more Americans wanted and purchased real linoleum over vinyl tile, then manufacturers would see the need for it here and would begin to manufacture it here in the US which would bring the price down to something competitive. This is important to remember when we see that the healthier/more environmentally friendly choice has a higher price tag on the shelf. Creating a demand for an item can bring the price down if it causes manufacture to move locally.

About food, Steingraber says:

Because the price represents what the food really cost to grow. Chemical-intensive-agriculture products cost a lot more than the dollars you hand over in the checkout lane. When I pay less for food produced on industrial farms, I am really passing along to society the expense of higher insurance premiums, increased healthcare expenditures, and more environmental cleanups. Other hidden costs of chemical-intensive agriculture include the death of pollinators, polluted waterways, poisoned farmworkers, eroded topsoil, and a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico from runoff into the Mississippi River. We are just handing these problems over to future generations to deal with.

This is another thing we need to think about when looking at the price tag on the shelf. The price of, say, bargain vegetables might be less than local organic vegetables but the COST is much higher. You might pay less in the supermarket but you will end up paying more in the long run in taxes (to clean up the environmental wastes generated by those industrial farms) and healthcare bills. We're taught to compare prices on the shelf in the grocery store but not to think about the environmental COSTS of our choices. I hear many folk say "I can' afford to buy organic produce" or "I can't afford to chop at the farmer's market" but if these same people looked at the overall costs of their current choices, they might find that they are already paying more than they can afford.

From The Sun Magazine's website:

The Sun is an independent, ad-free monthly magazine that for more than thirty years has used words and photographs to invoke the splendor and heartache of being human. The Sun celebrates life, but not in a way that ignores its complexity. The personal essays, short stories, interviews, poetry, and photographs that appear in its pages explore the challenges we face and the moments when we rise to meet those challenges.

I highly recommend this magazine. Subscriptions are affordable. I'm happy to hand off my copies once I am done if anyone wants to sample this amazing magazine!

I hope to never hear the words "Go Green!" again!

2010-02-04T23:17:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was at my local library waiting to return a book. A large happy sign was posted on the desk:

We're going GREEN!

Bags $1.00

In the past, bags were not available at the library. Sometimes there would be a little bin behind the desk stuffed with old grocery sacks (left behind by folks who no longer wanted them) that were free for the taking. Mostly, though, folks either carried their books and DVDs or brought their own bags. What is environmentlally friendly about selling bags? Where once there was no product, now there is one. The manufacture and consumption of an item is not "going green"!

I can only imagine that the library has decided to jump on the "green" bandwagon and is likely now selling those horrible reusable totes (another word I'd like to get rid of--ANY bag is a reuseable bag!) which are made out of recycled plastic bottles and which many companies are touting as "green". News flash folks: Those bags are not "green" either. This is a prime example of downcycling. Sure the bottles get melted down and then extruded into "thread" which is woven to create the new bags. But what happens to that "green" bag if it tears? Yea--it goes to the landfill!

So please, don't be fooled by claims of "going green". Remember: the best reusable bag is the one you already have!

Paper Products

2010-01-31T21:40:00.000-05:00

Many years ago I stopped buying paper napkins. When I needed a napkin I just tore off a paper towel and used that. A few years ago I was helping a friend clean out her house and gather together some items for Goodwill. Knowing that I sew, my friend told me to take whatever fabric or linens I found that I thought I could use. I came upon some old fabric napkins which were in good shape. I liked the fabric so I saved them, thinking I might repurpose them into something else. Later at home I looked at them again and decided to use them as napkins. They were not fancy but were durable and they were brightly patterned enough to hide stains well. I went on to hem up some other scraps of fabric I had lying around and soon had enough fabric napkins to stop using paper ones altogether. I use them at every meal, whether it's just me or with friends. I toss one in my lunch bag when I bring lunch to work and I keep a clean one in my desk for when I get takeout. Some mornings I wrap up my breakfast sandwich in one so I can eat it on the train.

I continued to buy paper towels to use in the kitchen for clean ups. About a year ago I started to save old t-shirts for rags. These were shirts that were so beat up I could not donate them. I found that once I had a readily accessible pile of rags, I stopped using paper towels altogether. I use rags for all of the cleaning I used to do with paper towels. I keep a separate supply on hand for food-related tasks too (such as draining bacon). Now anytime I have some old clothes too beat up for Goodwill, I cut them into new rags. (The worn out rags get sent to textiles recycling, which I'll cover in another post.)

A lot of greenies have gone so far as to eliminate toilet paper from their lives. This isn't a change that I see fitting into my life. However, as a person with seasonal allergies (read: I always have a runny nose) I use a lot of tissues. Not only is the use of these disposables adding to the landfill, but I also frequently had pockets full of old linty tissues. Inspired by some other folks and by my elimination of paper napkins and paper towels, I stitched up a couple of hankies to try them out. I find that, unless I have a cold, one hankie easily gets me through a day. I have a pile of them (all from repurposed fabrics) so I can grab a clean one every day. I'm not entirely off tissues yet but I use them far less.

(These hankies were made from pillow ticking from some old pillows that were repurposed for other projects.)

Umbrella Upcycle

2010-01-27T11:49:00.001-05:00

Because of Monday's blustery weather I have umbrellas on the brain.

I used to drop off broken umbrellas at 3RLiving in Park Slope but with their announcement that they are suspending all in-store recycling I'm assuming they are no longer taking umbrellas (I haven't had confirmation from Mark on this yet). I've also emailed Melanie of Ai Ai Gasa to see if she is still upcycling umbrellas (which is who 3R used to send them to) but I have not heard from her. (I think she's currently out of the country.)

Last night I did a Google search for upcycled umbrellas and I found another Brooklyn artist who is upcycling umbrellas into fashion. I emailed them last night and received a reply from Catherine this morning. Yes, they do collect umbrellas for upcycling. Catherine says: "My dropping locations are Artez'n on Atlantic ave and at The Green Spa and Wellness Center in Bay Ridge, as of next week you will be able to drop them as well at BTJ located in the East Williamsburg area and also anytime at my studio. The only issue for my studio you will need to call me first as the building as no doorbell."

As some of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook know, I have an idea for possibly upcycling broken umbrellas but I'm not certain it will work. Regardless, if you have any broken umbrellas (I'm specifically looking for the fabric from them) please hang on to them and give them to me! If I don't upcycle them myself, I'll save them to drop off with Catherine at Himane.

(Photo above borrowed from Sean Hillen's Broken Umbrella Project)

3RLiving suspends recycling program

2010-01-25T11:32:00.000-05:00

I just read that 3RLiving has suspended their in-store recycling program. Mark's blog post today lists resources for recycling items they used to collect. Check it out here. Or ask me if you need other resources.

Despite the fact that they are no longer able to offer in-store recycling, you should still stop by their shop (they have one at 276L 5th Ave. in Brooklyn and another at 147 Maplewood Avenue in Maplewood, NJ) and pick up some great earth-friendly items. Or check out their webstore at http://www.3rliving.com/

Duvet Cover

2010-01-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

I wrote the other day about working on this duvet cover. Today I wrestled with the extra wide fabric, worried about cutting things straight, fought off a storm of staitc electricity, managed to put on the facing based on my made-up pattern without trauma, only had to tear out ONE buttonhole, and finished the thing!

Here it is all done:

Here's a close up of the flat-felled seams on the silk pool in the center:

And here's the shell button detail on the closure:

Coffee

2010-01-23T09:00:00.003-05:00

I like coffee. I used to buy my coffee at the local bodega. At first I would walk to the corner, buy my coffee, bring it home and pour it into a mug. When I realized how silly it was to use a paper cup with a plastic lid for just the one-minute walk from the bodega to my apartment I started bringing my mug to the store. The guys there didn't even bat an eye the first time I handed them my porcelain mug. When I had guests, I brought 2 mugs. Eventually I got a travel mug too for those times when I wanted to drink my coffee on the train.

A year ago I broke down and bought a coffee maker to save money. It was then that I realized I would be throwing out a coffee filter with every pot. Sure I could add them to my scrap pile for the compost heap but it still seemed wasteful. I knew that The Organic Needle had organic cotton cone filters in her shop but my machine used different filters. After consulting with her and examining a paper filter, I finally came up with my own reusable cloth filters. They aren't perfect but they work and they save me from having to use one-use filters. And yes, the coffee grounds go into my scrap bag for composting.

Cold Comfort

2010-01-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

I heard an ad on the radio this morning for Chinet Comfort Cups. The ad copy includes lines like "For when you want to take your own coffee with you" and "Much better than that smelly thermos I keep forgetting to take out of the car."*

Wait--so we've spent years trying to convince folks to bring their own reusable mugs to take out places (and convincing those shops to accept them) and now Chinet is trying to sell us disposable take out cups for home use because we're too lazy or forgetful to wash out our reusable mugs? I'm speechless.

Please folks: don't buy this crap. Get a travel mug and remember to wash it or drink your coffee at home.

*This may not be the actual ad copy. I'm writing this from memory so I'm not quoting exactly.

This isn't part of my "there is no away" series but tomorrow's post in that series does deal with coffee so check back then.

Flat!

2010-01-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

It doesn't look like much now but when I finish it, this is going to be a really nice duvet cover. The blue fabric is vintage (Liberty of London) so it took me forever to get the guts to take scissors to it. The black pool in the middle is dupioni silk (which sounds fancy but is actually really affordable). Since I didn't have quite enough yardage in the Liberty of London I added the dupioni patch.

Since both the silk and the LoL have a tendency to fray and since I know from experience that my duvet gets thrown around a lot, I wanted to be sure the seams would be sturdy so I decided to make them all flat-felled. Let me tell you that I don't think I have made a French seam, much less a flat-felled seam since sometime in the early 90s. The hard part was remembering to start with the fabrics WRONG sides together. I took at least one seam apart for being backwards. Then there was the fact that I originally cut the silk crooked. But I didn't realize this until I had flat-felled BOTH of the seams that joined it to the LoL fabric. After I fixed that I realized I had cut the silk too short. Yup, after I had completed those 2 flat-felled seams again. When I remeasured and recut the silk I proceeded to stitch the LoL on the wrong way again.

Let's just say that I got more experience stitching and tearing out flat-felled seams in the past 2 days than I had in my entire sewing history.

Anyway, here's the top all put together. Later this week I will press out the backing fabric (luckily I bought wide backing so I won't need to piece that). I'll measure it out THREE times before I cut it and I'll double check my sewing plans before I stitch anything. The facing with the buttons should be the most challenging part left, but luckily I was smart enough to make a mock up of that part. Cross your fingers, I may have a new duvet cover by this time next week!

A Slice of New York

2010-01-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

L platform, 9:15 Monday night. There's a man playing an upright piano. Yes. An actual UPRIGHT PIANO. It's beat up with no cover but it's in decent tune despite that fact that it's up on a pair of furniture dollies. He must have brought it down here on the elevator. It's quite amazing and wonderful--the piano itself, the music and the fact that it is here on the L platform. I wonder what he looks like pushing that thing down 14th Street. I wonder what the clerk who buzzed him through the gate thought. Is he here all the time? Is he a regular? Perhaps the clerk was unfazed.

Also here a few yards away is another man with an easel set up near the edge of the platform. I get closer and see that his "canvas" is a subway map. Walking past him to peer over his shoulder, I think he's just scribbling on the map--a crazy guy with a black sharpie scribbling on a map. Then the picture resolves itself and I see the detail of the overhead pipes, the stairs leading down from the upper platform, the 2 men across the platform-- one reading, the other listening to his ipod. This guy has rendered the whole platform and its denizens in black sharpie on a subway map. It's not only brilliant in content, but in concept and execution as well. My train arrives before I realize how beautiful this would look on my wall and, sadly, I don't think to ask the artist's name.

There is no away

2010-01-16T18:27:00.000-05:00

Recycling is touted as a positive thing to do for the environment. While recycling is better than landfilling in most cases, it is not a perfect system. Many people have some flawed beliefs about recycling:

If it is recyclable I can toss it in any recycling bin. Wrong. Just because something CAN be recycled does not mean it will be.
If I'm not sure where to toss it, it's better to guess. Someone else will sort it out. Wrong. It is important to understand the regulations for your local curbside recycling program. In some places, one misplaced item will contaminate the whole lot causing it to go to the landfill.
At home I can put this item in my recycle bin so it must be the same here at your house too. Wrong. Recycling guidelines vary so always check if you are at a friend's house.
Stuff I throw in the recycling bin gets turned into new stuff. Partially right. Materials that are "recycled" are most often downcycled. The plastic soda bottle you put in the bin will be melted down and will become something that is made of a lower quality plastic. Often the new item is not recyclable again so this downcycling only delays the trip to the landfill. Don't fool yourself into thinking those bottles get turned into new soda bottles; new virgin plastic is manufactured to make soda bottles.
There's a "recycling number" on my plastic so I can recycle it right? Well not always. Those numbers actually indicate what type of plastic your item is made from. Here's a link that will explain them. That number 7? That's a catch all for any number of lower quality plastics and generally can't be recycled. Why can't you throw them all together? Well let's say I'm painting a wall. Let's say I accidentally spill a drop of white in the blue paint. Probably no big deal right? But if I spill enough white in the blue paint it will dilute it and discolor it. If it's a different type of paint, it might even affect the paint's ability to go on smoothly or dry correctly. Likewise if you drop some number 4 plastics in a bin that only accepts 1s and 2s and that lot gets dumped together to be melted down, you may contaminate the whole batch making it unusable. Many recyclers do not have the ability to sort your recycling, so if there is a contaminant (say an apple core in with your plastics) they'll just toss the whole batch. That's right: if you can’t manage to sort your recycling according to your recycler's guidelines your stuff may very well go to the landfill anyway. Yup I said it: do it right or don't bother and admit that you are adding to the landfill.
My recycling company lets me toss everything in the bin so that means that every type of plastic is recycled in my area. Maybe right, maybe not. Some recyclers find it more cost effective to allow the customer to put all plastics in the bin. The recycler then takes on the burden of sorting them out. Some of those items will likely be sent to the landfill. Check with you recycler to find out exactly what they do.

What many of us forget is that recycling is a business and we Americans live in a capitalist society. Sure recycling might be touted as "eco-friendly" but it's also about making money. Some things that effect your local recycling:

How cost efficient is it to pick up that item from your curb?
What does it cost to sort and process that item?
Is there a buyer for the raw material that results from processing that item?

This is why not all items are collected for recycling in all areas. This is also why you want to look for goods with recycled content where possible: because if no one buys recycled goods there is no profit for the recyclers and therefore less incentive for them to pick up your recycling. I would caution you though to think about the recycled items you purchase. If you would normally purchase the item anyway without recycled content, then yea, go ahead and replace that with an item with recycled content. If you wouldn't normally purchase the item, don't let the "eco-friendly" tag of recycling cause you to consume something you don't actually need.

This series is not going to tell you what to do. It's not going to discuss manufacturing waste. It's not going to solve any big problems. What I intend to do in this series is to discuss how one single woman in Manhattan deals with trash. I'll tell you where I recycle. I'll tell you how I got rid of some disposables. I'll tell you what I do with my coffee grounds. I'm not suggesting that you should do any of the things I do. I'm just offering up what I do as examples of what is possible. I don't live a perfect life. I haven't eliminated one-use plastics from my world. I use canned foods on occasion. I eat meat. But I have made small changes and sometimes that's all a person can do.

Remember: You can never throw something away. Consumption, manufacturing, landfilling and recycling all take their toll on our environment and our lives. There is no "away".

Tomorrow

2010-01-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

He used to ride his bicycle up and down Cooper Street singing at the top of his lungs. He didn’t sing well. He didn’t sing badly. He did sing with enthusiasm. At first I thought it was funny but after one day of trying to work from home hearing him sing the chorus of “Tomorrow” for about ten minutes solid, I was ready to never hear eccentric Mark sing again. I don’t think I could pinpoint now the day he stopped riding his bike on the block and cease serenading the neighborhood.

One day about a year ago, I saw Mark asking for change at the entrance to the A train. He looked older, perhaps a bit more frail. He was leaning on a cane. I gave him a dollar and told him to take care of himself.

I don’t see Mark every day. Sometimes weeks go by when I don’t see him. I don’t know his story but I imagine one for him: I imagine he lost a job or got sick and had a pile of medical bills. I imagine he makes ends meet for the most part but that once a month or so he needs a little extra to pay for food or medicine.

I don’t, as a rule, give money to folks who beg on the street but I give Mark a dollar every time I see him and I take a moment to ask about his health—to acknowledge him as another human being, as a neighbor. It’s important to me because all I can think when I see Mark is “We’re all just one tragedy away from relying on the kindness of strangers.”

Mark is in the process of having all his teeth removed and having dentures made. I hope he is able to afford them. And I hope his life turns back around. I miss the sound of his off-key voice singing about the joys of tomorrow.

Tonight tonight

2009-12-31T11:31:00.000-05:00

My friend J just wrote an interesting post about the last decade of New Year's Eves. Following his lead, I thought back and tried to remember where I was this night for the last 10 years.

The only 2 I am solid on are 2004 into 2005 (I was on tour with The Graduate and we were in Portland OR where Morgan Fairchild wrangled us last-minute reservations for a restaurant/party) and last year (a hasty kiss with my then-new boyfriend before he had to run off to pick up his roommate at the airport). I have spent a lot of NYEs with my best friend, sewing into the New Year and so I suspect that several of them were with her but I also suspect that several are just lost. There might be a good reason for this:

The reason I usually don't go to New Year's parties is that I hate the moments leading up to midnight. There you are having a lovely conversation with someone. Perhaps you are discussing the latest MoMA exhibit or a his ginger-cranberry cookie recipe or why there is blue paint under her fingernails. Whatever it is, you are interacting with folks--you know, the way one does at a party. Moments before midnight someone will gather everyone around a TV (YMMV but no matter what town or state or time zone I am in, 99.9% of the time the NYC ball drop is involved). It is this moment at about 11:59 when the party comes to a DEAD STOP and you all stare at the TV like zombies. Then at the precise moment of midnight you are expected to have the MOST FUN EVER and scream and shout and kiss people.

Yea, well I WAS having fun. You know, back at 11:57 when I was still engaged in conversation? Now the moment is broken and I'm left sipping some cheap champagne I don't want and looking around to see if I can get my coat and leave.

I'm all for gathering good folks together. I like some fun conversation, a little music, good food, maybe even party games. What I hate is the interruption of the party. Who cares if we notice the EXACT MOMENT that the new year turns? Let's just enjoy that we are all together having a good time.

That said, tonight I'll be with my boyfriend. Chances are good I'll kiss him at midnight. Then again, chances are good I'll kiss him at 11:58 too, right after I finish talking about the latest MoMA exhibit.

This blog has not been abandoned!

2009-12-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

I swear I haven't forgotten all of you here in blog land. I will confess that I spend way too much time on Facebook and not enough time writing blog posts. But fear not--I really am working on that recycling/reuse series I promised.

I've also been trying to catch up on some sewing projects:

I relisted a bunch of items in my shop (with lowered prices) and also added some (a bag that somehow never got listed originally and a new tied fleece blanket I just made today from some fleece I bought to make something else that never got made). (Make me happy and go buy some stuff!)
I finalized the plans for my new duvet cover tonight so I just need to go buy some backing fabric and then get stitching. I'm tired of looking at the pink duvet cover and pink quilts in my blue bedroom so it's time to get that done. I'm using the blue/black Liberty of London fabric you see on the left in this photo:

I also realized that the Double Irish Chain quilt top I made a while ago will make a nice bed quilt (to replace the pink ones) so I need to think about borders and backing for that.

As always, I'm working on a pile of catnip mice. I've got a good pattern going of making a batch of about 100 once every 2 months so I don't have to constantly be making mice.
I started quilting the Alice quilt that I made on my last quiltaway. I want to turn this into a wall hanging for my living room.

Yes yes Danielle I SWEAR I will get your quilt quilted. It's next up after Alice. Heck I may even throw it in a frame and keep them both at hand for the cold winter months coming up.

Snow!

2009-12-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

More photos of Inwood in the snow here.

Google Wave

2009-12-18T00:08:00.002-05:00

From what I can figure out, it seems to be a combination of email, chat and discussion boards. It's kind of cool if you need that, but kind of a pain if you don't. But like all technology you don't know if you need it until you try it out.

I'm pretty sure I don't need it. But I've got like 20 invites so if anyone out there is jonesing to dive into the Google Wave, send me your email address and I'll send you an invite.

"Rent is Due" Sale continues in my shop

2009-12-13T14:19:00.000-05:00

EVERYTHING is on sale in my shop! There are some great bargains on cloth napkins, tote bags, diaper changing pads, notebooks, fabric and more!

Electronics Recycling Event in Inwood

2009-12-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

Electronics Recycling/Reuse collection - One Day Only
Saturday, Jan. 9 - 10 am - 4 pm at RING Garden

So Save up your electronics (TVs, computers, radios, printers, scanners, etc etc etc), batteries, and cell phones. Our thanks to the Lower East Side Ecology Center (Christine Datz-Romero) and City Council Member Robert Jackson, Con Edison and Panasonic for sponsoring this event

Recycling Today: Easy and Challenging

2009-12-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

EASY: I went to the Aveda store at Columbus Circle to drop off a bag of caps. The folks who work there always give me a big smile and a genuine thank you when I drop off caps there. I also like that they don't pressure me to shop when I'm dropping off caps (although I have shopped there at other times).

CHALLENGING: I stopped off at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods today to drop my #5 plastics, used Preserve toothbrushes and used Brita pitcher filters in the Gimme5 bin. The bin used to be right next to the info desk at the bottom of the escalator. It's now located by the bottle refund machines. If you are looking for this, walk straight back in the store toward the elevator. You won't be able to see the bin (or the bottle machines) until you are almost on top of them. Remember to use the GImme5 bins. If the bins don't get enough use, who knows if WF will continue the program. I'm worried now that the bin is less visible...

EASY: I also stopped off at the Home Depot on 3rd and 58th to recycle some CFLs (both of which blew out due to a short in a light fixture). I had read on the website that CFLs can be turned in at the returns desk at any Home Depot. When I arrived at eh returns desk (bottom of the 2nd escalator) I saw the clearly marked and easily visible bin for the CFLs. The directions on the bin told me to wrap my bulbs in the bags provided but there were no bags on the bin. I asked the woman at the returns desk if it mattered since my bulbs were already in a bag. She said as long as they were in a bag, it was fine. And FWIW, there was a bind for recycling plastic bags right next to the CFL bin so I could have grabbed one of those if I needed it.

Remember, even if you have to go out of your way to recycle something, it's better than landfilling it. The more we use these small start-up recycling programs, the more corporations and government will see how much we want them and perhaps the programs will expand and become more convenient.

9th Annual Curry Movie Day

2009-12-05T18:45:00.001-05:00

(click image to view it full-size)

New Series: There is No Away

2009-12-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a series of posts about recycling, reuse, reduction, landfilling and disposal of goods. This series will be specifically about how I deal with these issues in my own life. That is, how does a single greenie in Manhattan apply these issues to her life.

The way that I deal with things may not apply to you. If you happen to live in my area, you might find this really useful. You may also find some ideas in what I do that can be applied to your circumstances. You may find that what I do is nonsense and you might recommend other ways for me to do something.

To begin, if there are particular issues or particular items you would like me to write about, please let me know. You can leave a comment here on the blog, over on facebook or email me.

Two bits of Inwood news

2009-11-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Two unrelated bits of news I noticed recently:

1. While we were all anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the dollar store on 207th Street (which suffered a fire a few months back) another equally-sized dollar store opened up on Broadway and Academy. I have not been in this new store (which is dubbed the "99 cents more or less store") nor have I been in the newly reopened one on 207 so I don't know how they compare.

2. I walked past Keenan's last night and saw 2 signs of interest. One said "Closed for Renovations" and the other said the property had been seized for the sale of "controlled/illegal substances". Anyone know what's going on over there?

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Before you shop...

2009-11-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

I was going to just repost my sister's blog post to Facebook with some comments but I realized I have more to say on the subject now that we are entering the season of "Gift-mas".

My comment along with the shared post was going to be this "If you must buy a tangible good, please buy used or handmade. If you must buy something new, please buy American."

But really? Do you *need* to buy something tangible at all? Yes, as humans we are programmed to seek novelty and therefore we get joy from a new item. But please think before you shop. Do you really need to buy that item? If you do please think about the following things before you plunk down your debit card:

Can I find this item used? Buying used items keeps them from the landfills. It keeps down a bit of manufacturing waste. It generally means less/no packaging. You can usually find something more durable in a used goods shop. You can sometimes find something more unique.
Can I find this item made from natural/reused/recycled/recyclable materials? Think about the full life cycle of the item. Is it able to be repaired if it breaks? If not, can it be composted? Or reused? Will it end up in the landfill?
Can I find this item with less/no/natural/reused/recycled/recyclable packaging? Packaging is basically trash you pay for. If you can buy your item with no packaging, that's best. If it has packaging, look for items with less. Look for items packaged in reused materials. Or natural materials. Materials that can be reused or composted. As a last resort, accept items in recyclable packaging. Try to avoid items packaged in materials that will go straight to the landfills.
Can I buy this item directly from someone who makes it? Buying directly from the craftsperson allows you to ask questions--not only about how the craftsperson gets his/her inspiration, but also about the materials used. It also allows you to make special requests: several friends I know have asked Etsy sellers to not use any plastic to package heir purchases.
Can I buy this item locally? Local is always better. Not only do you save on transportation costs and generally have less pacakaging, you pay into your local economy. If you neighbor makes the item, that's perfect! But if not, look for items made in your town, county or state. At the very least, try to buy items that are made in your country. Some folks complain that an item made in America costs more than the same one made in China. Think about this: Is it worth a few more pennies to keep jobs in America? To have items made to higher manufacturing standards? To lessen the environmental impact of transporting the goods? I'd rather be healthy, have a healthier planet and have a job in the long run than save a few pennies today.

Two small end notes:

Everything in my Etsy shop has been reduced by at least 50%. I gotta pay some bills so please go shop there!
For anyone who still thinks it's okay to shop at Walmart on occasion,please read The Walmart Effect. It's an insightful book which will show you how Walmart not only controls pricing in its stores but how it also affects pricing and manufacturing globally.

Clothing/Stuff Exchange in Inwood this weekend!

2009-11-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Semiannual Community Clothing, Etc. Exchange.

This is a GREAT opportunity to donate your unwanted stuff and collect some
"gently-used" items.

November 13: Drop off your items from 6-9pm
November 14: Collect from 9am-3pm

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
1815 Riverside Drive at Payson Avenue
1.5 blocks west of Dyckman/200th & Broadway in Inwood

All uncollected items will be donated to the local Goodwill.

Battery Recycling News

2009-10-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

Just learned this from the OROE newsletter:

Alkaline Battery Recycling Suspended at Whole Foods
Due to tightened regulations from the US Department of Transportation, Whole Foods markets in NYC have suspended their battery collections. All 6 stores continue to collect #5 plastics, plastic bags, cell phones and redeemable beverage containers.

>About Battery Recycling in NYC
Single use batteries are permissible in household trash (do not place them in your recycling bin or bag), though some local collection programs exist so ask around the neighborhood at hardware stores and eco-conscious establishments. For example, customers at 3R Living in Brooklyn can recycle batteries for $1/lb. A number of fee-based mail-in boxes can also be found with a quick search online.

Rechargeable batteries (including the batteries found in cordless item like drills) are prohibited from NYC residential waste and must be recycled. Up to ten rechargeable batteries at a time can be dropped off for recycling free of charge at stores selling similar batteries or products containing rechargeable batteries, with the exception of small food stores. Large apartment buildings might consider signing up for an in-building program with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.

NYC residents may bring batteries of all kinds to the Department of Sanitation’s Special Waste Drop-Off sites. For locations and hours click here.

Sewing update

2009-10-17T15:18:00.003-04:00

Last weekend I spent at Sherry's house (well actually at both of her houses since we split our time!) having a fun girl's weekend and sewing. Friday we drove out to the Pocono house. On the way we stopped at a HUGE thrift store in Trenton (Red White and Blue). I had no luck finding long-sleeved shirts that I liked (I seem to have donated or ragged all of the ones from last season) but I did get a cut angora cardigan for $5 and a great leather fall coat for $20.

I was determined to re-baste Danielle's quilt this weekend. Originally I had sent it out to be basted on a long-arm machine but I didn't realize until it was months after I got it back that there was a big wrinkle in the back. I also did not like the way the quilt was centered on the backing. Since this quilt is a queen, Sherry suggested I wait until we get back to her NJ house to do it in her family room (which has a big floor space). I worked on mice in the Poconos instead (which was my other planned task since I am woefully behind in mouse-making! Anyone else out there want to sew mice on a regular basis for NYC Rescued Kitties?)

When we got back to Sherry's house I realized I was afraid I might scratch up Sherry's floor with the basting so I decided to do it in the living room instead (which has carpet). Unfortunately, I was sloppy and the basting job was terrible. When I got home I took out all the pins, pushed my furniture up against the walls and rebasted it. Third time was the charm though. While I had the furniture pushed out, I also based the Alice quilt that I made on the last quiltaway. Bother of these are now ready for quilting (once I decide on patterns and thread). I'm taking a mini break from quilting to get some mice done for Karen.

Next up on my project list is to make he new coverlet for my bed. I have some beautiful Liberty of London vintage fabric I want to use. Rather than making a quilt, I decided to just use it to make a new cover for my down comforter. It will be fairly simple and easy to do but I need to decide on some dimensions and buy fabric for it.