Little (Mellow) Things

Saving the planet. What a huge challenge. I do my part as best as I can, but saving the planet falls along a spectrum and some of us do it privately and some of us do it publicly. Personally, I skitter anytime I'm approached with a petition and someone cheerfully saying, "Do you have a minute to stop global warming?" Honey, it's going to take more than a minute.

1. Buckets in our showers. I really need to get a bucket for everyone I know. When I warm up my shower in the morning the water has to run from the tap for a little bit. If I had a bucket I could capture that water and then use it to water my plants or flush the toilet. Nice. Gotta get a bucket.

2. Tupperware for take-out. How dorky do you feel carrying Tupperware in your purse when you go to out to dinner or lunch? Really nerdy. But I cringe when I'm handed a Styrofoam container, one I know that I can't microwave. So why not bring my own containers? If you bring a large enough purse it shouldn't be a problem. Restaurants: how about a discount for bringing your own take-away containers, some coffee shops do this if you bring your own mug and some grocery stores do this if you bring your own bags.

3. If it's yellow let it mellow. Um. Yeah. This is a challenging one because seriously I just don't want to know. But when you think about it, it's just pee, and maybe some paper. No biggie. Really. Just keep saying that to yourself. And when you're done put the toilet lid down. And mellow out, you.

4. Compost! This is so much fun. Really. I live in an apartment and don't have space for my own compost and I didn't want worms because they turn into pets who you have to feed, rather than worms who work for you. I wanted working worms. Luckily, the nice ladies across the street have a great compost pile and they are happy to let me dump the goods on the pile. I'm actually feeding their chickens, but I don't mind. I just keep a plastic container with a lid under my sink and when it's full I walk across the street. Composting is fun.

5. Buy local, seasonal and second-hand. Garage sales are the best things ever!! Granted I wind up with things I don't "really" need sometimes, but other times I furnish my whole apartment. And buying local and seasonal is hugely rewarding. Again, grocery purchasing falls in a spectrum (are we really going to give up coffee?). Buy what's in season, no matter how badly you want a peach in January,buy organic over conventional, buy USA over foreign produced whenever possible, and by local versus regional if you are able to. Better yet go to the farmers' market and meet your growers. My apple guy is named Steve. He's a little crazy.

6. This was an airport bathroom epiphany. Now a days the taps in airport bathrooms, like the soap dispensers, are motion sensitive. This means water won't run until you put your hand under the faucet. This saves water from running down the drain without touching your hands (in theory, some faucets are more sensitive than others, it appears. Here's how to try it at home. Use liquid soap, lather up, THEN turn on the water. If you want to know how much water you use to wash your hands try this experiment. 1) stop up your drain 2) wash your hands how you normally would 3) observer how much water is left in the sink when you're done. Now, try this: 1) stop up your sink 2) using liquid soap, lather up your hands 3) turn on the water and rinse 4) observe how much less water you now have in the sink. I would only try this experiment when your hands are dirty because otherwise, you know, you'd be wasting water.

7. Dish washing. Again with the running water. We should all have a dish tub in our sink. Even those fancy deep farmhouse sinks, even the stainless steel sinks, even if we use a dishwasher. Get a dish tub (*sigh* yes, a plastic one). Fill it with water, add soap, wash your dishes, rinse your dishes or put them into the dishwasher (do you really need to wash a dish before the dishwasher does? Think about that one). Now walk away from the sink without draining the tub. Let the water cool. When you come back introduce yourself to the grey water (that's what diluted soapy water is commonly known as). Now introduce your plants to the grey water, or your lawn, or your toilet if there's something mellowing in it. And better yet, make sure to use a gentle biodegradable dish soap. Your plants will thank you.

8. Lawnmowers. I remember mowing the lawn as a kid. Once I tried doing it barefoot, not such a bright idea. But here's a good idea: buy a push mower. Not only will you save on having to buy gas, not to mention decrease emissions, but you'll get even more exercise than you already are. Bonus!! And while you're at it, get rid of the leaf blower. Use a rake. Better yet, have your children use a rake.

9. Bag lady! That's me. Gotta take my bags to the grocery store. I'm picky now, even. I know which ones are best for which purchases, and I like to bring them in all different colors. Be a bag lady or bag dude. Take a bag to the grocery store.

10. Say no to receipts. Some day all stores will be like the apple store where they email you your receipts. Until then: just say no.

None of these ideas are new ideas. We've all heard them in a million other places (blogs, news, TV, etc.) They point is: we still can do more, and hearing about them (and writing about them) helps. While we might argue that using an energy efficient dishwasher is better than hand washing, or that buying things to be more eco-friendly is counter productive, the point is ultimately the same: use less of everything, recycle, re-purpose, re-use. And know where your resources are coming from, what it takes to get them to you, and where they go when you're done. And let it mellow, people, let it mellow.

Coral Reef from Yarn!

This is absolutely amazing. I wish I could see it in person. I love the intersection between art and science -- it makes my quest as a quilter and crafter feel somewhat related to my goals as a scientist.

Check out the Hyperbolic Coral Reef here.

More Beginning Quilting Tips

* Squaring up your blocks after making them inevitably means that you will have to rip out seams and re-sew them. As one of my classmates said, "I wish I'd paid more attention while making these things, it would have made this part easier." No kidding. Watch out for those quarter inch seams...they'll gettcha!

* Sew around the edge of your quilt top (quarter inch from the edge, running stitch -- nothing fancy) once it's all pieced and before you make your quilt sandwich. I can't say I really understand this part but apparently it has something to do with preventing your quilt top from becoming not-square. (I have a feeling advanced quilters are reading this and laughing -- that's OK).

* Binding strips are sewn together on an angle because it prevents bunching at the seams when you roll your binding and sew to to your quilt. My guess is a diagonal seam also distributes tension a little better to that seam, so your binding doesn't pop open inadvertently.

* When taking a quilting class at a store ALWAYS ask what the total cost of the class is, and if it's OK to bring your own fabric and what supplies will be supplied as part of the cost of the class. The cost of my class has doubled due to unnecessary supply purchases, and my inability/reluctance to ask these questions and/or just assuming that it was all inclusive.

* Color choices and fabric pattern picking: is this generational or learned? There are some wonky color/fabric choices in my class.

Quilt 1

I think I am officially becoming a quilter. The last block (lower right) still has to have all of its pieces sewn together. And then there's the boarders between the blocks and the boarder on the outside. I'm enjoying the process and the rules of quilting (what you piece together and what order you sew them all together -- it's very theoretical and meditative at the same time). I'd actually like to quilt it by hand, but that may be a whole 'nother can o' worms.

Beginning Quilting

These are some of the things I learned at my first quilting class:

- Don't iron your fabric in a back and forth motion. Instead, press your fabric in an up and down motion because this means you won't make the fabric fibers move around in funny ways.

- Don't reverse stitch your seams, because in quilts it doesn't matter anyway.

- It's Ok to start with the needle of your sewing machine in the 'down' position without it being in the fabric, but have your fabric right up against your needle.

- Press your stitching before pressing your seam open because it helps 'set' your stitches.

- Apparently it's not always necessary to wash your fabrics before cutting. This seems a little gross to me, though, so I'll just keep washing my fabrics first. It makes for more intense pressing with the iron.

- When using a rotary cutter make sure the blade is sharp (I didn't know they were easily replaced, but it makes sense) and make sure to cut slowly and "inch" the hand holding the ruler/straightedge as you cut. Watch your fingers, 'cause blood on your fabrics REALLY means you gotta wash 'em first!!

- People have amazingly different taste in fabric colors, patterns, etc. It's probably the most amusing part of my class so far.

- Fabric guilt: gotta learn to fight it when it's too late to change your choices (but there's SO MUCH to pick from!!).

- Fabrics when they're cut down to size for the blocks sure do look different together than when they're by themselves on the big bolts.

Obviously, this might seem like a bunch of randomness. As one of my classmates asked, "So what do you do?" "Oh, I'm in grad school." "What are you doing taking a quilting class?!" Honestly, it might not be the most effective use of my time, but as a grad student I struggle with abstract learning goals and hazy benchmarks of understanding so it's nice to come away from three hours of a class where I have used my brain and my hands and I can say, "Today I learned how to properly use a rotary cutter and sew a seam." That, my friends, is progress I can set my watch to. I've got five more weeks and a sample quilt on the way!!

Examination

It is almost as bad to proctor a final exam as it is to take one. Almost.
Words my students wanted me to help them define:
"defoliate" -- when all the leaves fall off
"hallucinate" -- it's something that happens in your mind. Oh, like when you're in the desert and you see things? Yes! Exactly like that.
"prevalence" -- the frequency with which something occurs (like Lyme Disease infections)
"sympatric and allopatric speciation" -- sorry, can't tell you!
"gestation" -- Really?! But no, can't tell you.


They finished. We left the freezing room. Out.

Have Knives, Will Cook

It's amazing when the pieces of my life come together unexpectedly. And I am especially amazed when my blog-reading life jives with my physical life. A few days ago on Soule Mama's blog I noticed this book on the side bar. The words "Tassajara" brought back memories of dozens of slices of toast eaten during my years of living in Northern California. We'd stop at Bell Market on the way home and pick up a loaf.

"Tassajara toast, Poppy! With lots of butter!" That's what we'd chirp to my dad for whenever he asked us if we wanted a snack. We are a BIG toast family -- always in search of the perfect loaf, and we've burnt out a toaster or two over the past years.

Just today, I put in my latest Netflix entitled "How To Cook Your Life" and was totally floored to see my worlds collide, because it turns out that this documentary is a film about Edward Espe Brown who wrote the Tassajara Bread Book.

I really enjoyed this little film. I'm not a Zen follower, nor do I make my own bread (although I've since been inspired to try, but probably after our 100+ degree summer is over), but this film is great. It spoke to me as a graduate student on several levels. Watching Brown get frustrated with a bottle of oil and slice off the plastic lid with a cleaver saying "Why do they do this to people?" symbolized both my past and current frustrations and mimicked my internal and external temper tantrums. Watch Brown mangle a packaged block of cheese -- you'll get it.

I think the most important message of the movie for me was to remember to be in the moment; to accept imperfection; to focus on the singular task at hand; to let my hands do things hands ought to do.

Two of Brown's quotes stick with me. He says we ought to "treat the food as though it were your eye sight; treat it as though it were that precious." I believe that this is not just true about food, but about everything we value in life: our work, our education, our family, our planet.

He also says: "when you're cooking, you're not just cooking, you're not just working on food, you're also working on yourself...the food will taste better when the cook is joyful." Again, there are many things that nourish my life besides the food I eat. And I must be cognoscente that when I am producing a "thing" (like a dissertation) I am also working on myself and the world around me to improve both and to share my joy.

Brown reminds us to look past our temper tantrums, our inner and outer moments of weakness, and be joyful. Loving the toast.

The photo is from here, where you can also watch a trailer for the film.