Waste Inspiration

The other day, Ben and I went up to SF to visit our dear friends Phillip & Tara who were down from Portland briefly.  We stayed at our mutual friend's house (she was out of town), which was a cozy yet modern and spacious studio apartment in the lower level of a victorian house in the Mission.   I loved the details of the apartment:  floor to ceiling mirrors (which were actually doors to her closet space) in the main room, and a sprung wood floor (she's also a dance instructor). Super nice kitchen with full appliances and similarly modern bathroom, but not much space other than that.  I mean, that's really all you need!  I sort of fantasized about living there--where would all my art stuff go?  I figured I'd have to make the bedroom area a two-level loft with the bed up top and all my pendant and sewing and dance stuff below.  I like to think I don't have all that much stuff, but the reality is that everything is relative.  And I definitely have plenty.   I've been organizing all my stuff and Ben's between job searching.  

Anyway, another thing that I really appreciated in her place was the minimalization of waste.  She seems to subscribe to the idea of expectation:  whatever receptacle you maintain for waste will be accordingly filled.  And she, thus, does not expect much.  Because check it out:  from L to R= recycling, compost, trash. 

That's a small recycling bucket. The compost is about the same size as I have in my freezer, but that trash receptacle is "desktop wastebasket" size! I love that diminuation of stuff-going-to-landfill expectation! It really helps to think about every item you buy in the market when you extend your thinking to "I'm going to have to throw that wrapper away. Will it even fit in my trashcan?" Every item that doesn't fit means another trip out to the herby-curbie. So, yeah, I was impressed and inspired. I found this longer article that talks more about how to integrate such ideas into your own household and create a "zero waste kitchen" if you're so inclined (let me know if you make any of these changes!).

P & T, it was so wonderful to see you two.

Lexington and Back

Funeral in Kentucky Summer.  Collage by me.

Unexpectedly, Ben's grampa died and so we went back to Kentucky for the visitation, funeral, and to clear out the house.  

Visitation

Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown

Kentucky Burgoo and fried green tomatoes

Bourbon bottle with a fox that looks like Cappy

Ice's Produce: owned by Ben's Mom's cousins.

Corncob handle found on old awl. For reals.

3 sets of Flour/Sugar/Coffee/Tea tins that I saw in Lexington at an antique market that I considered getting.  Then I found a set at Grandparents' house. 

Mom's honey and honeycomb from her new bees.

Mom's beehives.

Mmmmmmm.

None of the motorcyclists I saw wore helmets.  This motorcycle had mini truck-nuts.  Oh Kentucky. 

But it's not all backwards: Food carts in downtown Lexington!

Delish breakfast w/ family.

Delish indeed.

Dr. Nasty, Morgan, and Glossy.

Flex, Ben, Isaac, Ella 

Missy & Cole

Flex showing us his radio and antennae.

Dad driving Polly, his 1950 Chevrolet.

Polly

Driving in Polly in lush green Cincinnati.

Dad and I walked around watching frogs jump into the pond. Chirp!

It's just SO GREEN there.  

By the end I missed the ocean and my kitties.  But I loved the comfort I feel there, friends and family, plenty.  And now I'm back in the world of recycling, composting, and my own destiny.

The Behbes

My younger sister was the last of her friends to have children. Meanwhile none of my friends had kids. I thought I just had the types of friends that didn't have kids, but the spell has been broken, and now most of my friends have kids.

Babies are big these days.  Ha ha. Bad pun. They're "in", I should say.

Here's a little post to show some of them. Missing from this edition of recently-seen-babies is Theo of Derrick & Shana.

Aria's parents (she's hiding up there in the swaddling).

Me 'n' Aria

Missy and Flex now have 3 yr old Cole and 6 month old twins Isaac and Ella. Here's 5 seconds of chaos at their house.  Missy is an incredible mother, cleaning up behind everyone, preemptively feeding everyone, and maintaining a cheery, encouraging disposition.

Cyprus with his dad Joe and mama Mira.

Libby Lee motor boats my mouth then hers.

And the inevitable question is, Do I want kids now?  Still the answer is not really.  I enjoy meeting these new little people, and it's really cool to see their parents transform into parenthood.  I can see and have confirmed through discussion that having children is often one of the most fulfilling aspects of their lives.  I also see that it's not all roses, and I commend parents for the trials and tribulations they endure daily.  But to exemplify how I feel personally about having kids, I'll let this photo do the speaking:

And of course the baby I'm most excited about...Baby Kitty.  I can't help myself!

Since Graduation

I have, of course, been searching for jobs.  I've had 2 interviews where I was in the final rounds, but no dice.  Still, thinking about those situations as great opportunities to practice interviewing.  I'm taking it as a good sign that I've had 2 real interviews less than a month after graduating.  I'm also working 15 hrs/week at Seafood Watch, still.

In the meantime, I've been trying to enjoy myself as much as possible.  All these projects I've had in my mind for ever--I have the time to make them come to fruition!  For instance, this model for my pendants and earrings which I wanted on wood, but never found a properly large piece of drift wood to make that come true. Instead, I utilized my photoshop skills, melding a photo of worn wood that I took with the silhouette photo, mounting it on foamboard and cutting it out.

 Ben and I have been enjoying more time to explore TOGETHER.  Here are some shots from Asilomar one day. Super low tide= lots of crabs.

 Once a week, I've been going up to San Francisco for a dance class, and I have enjoyed other things like loft parties with hipster bands and characters dancing around.

People named Pinky playing something that looks like a cross between a fiddle and a gramaphone.

If I go up early (which I've learned to do to avoid hitting crazy traffic), I spend the day with Dusty or Mira or Rose, working on costuming/choreography.  It's great to immerse myself in that creative part of my life with others who are of the same ilk.  

Dusty's dress patterns hanging all organized-like.

 My friend Colleen turned 30, and I helped celebrate, doing her makeup like mine (I had just finished round two of photoshoots with Thatcher).

Baby Aria and dressed up dolls Alyssum and Mama Colleen.