notes from an urban ecosystem

Oil

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:33:15 -0500

Rate Oil Companies for Sustainability? Why not? I don't have much time at the moment to write about this, but BP is out on top, as usual.

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Moth-Proof

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:28:19 -0500

Usually, when I am shopping at my local yarn store (LYS), I do not think that much about labels. It's not like going to the co-op. Sure, I have to check for yardage, fiber content, and dye lots, but I don't have to think about chemicals and things...

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No More AAA: Let's See if this is Better

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:38:38 -0600

It was a hard thing to do, and I still feel a little weird about it, but today, I dumped the American Automobile Association. As far back as I can remember, everyone in my family has been a member of "The Three A's" as my grandfather calls it. I ...

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CFL Recycling!

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:08:18 -0500

If you live in Minnesota, you are lucky: There's now a free adn easy location to take your used compact fluorescent lights (CFL)! Our local Menards stores are joining the Center for Energy and Environment and Great River Energy in a recycling pr...

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local food

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:37:07 -0500

Trying to eat in season and source locally produced food can be tough, especially if you live in a northern clime. Epicurious has this map to help us out. Here in Minnesota, we have asparagus and rhubarb right now, though we can get many things fr...

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Spring in the Garden

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:20:12 -0500

Spring in Minnesota is a tenuous and welcome occurrence. Every year, we forget that winter lasts longer than we remembered, and we are shocked by April freezes and snow in May. We think that it was different last year, until the weather guy on ...

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Not just another pretty face

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:59:19 -0500

Let's go inside the house, shall we? Main floor: Ahhh... I love this. Let's go from front to back, shall we? The porch steps change to the front because I don't like the way they are now. The porch is just a big box slapped on front of the house...

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Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:21:30 -0500

I have always thought of our house looking, in the end, like a little prairie-style-mission-arts-and-crafts bungalow, and I have done sketches based on that vision. It was interesting, then, for me to come to this meeting with the architects and ...

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Scrooge

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:48:32 -0500

I was not expecting to walk into the bank with a plan and walk out with a check. I was expecting some sound advice, options, and maybe some encouragement. By the time we left, I felt like we were never going to be able to do this. The weather was...

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Revisiting the Remodel

nobody@vox.com(kittywhumpus) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:37:39 -0500

When last we left our little remodeling project, we were expecting some numbers, and we had some assignments... I looked into materials, chose a few things, and picked out a washer and dryer; we sent in our radon test and our asbestos test (our s...

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