Sorry faithful readers … apparently I have some really bored friends in Missouri and a husband willing to cohort with them to write make believe posts (I can still run a mile, though I haven’t in 2 weeks … and I didn’t run a race last weekend!) But since we’re into make believe posts, courtesy of JJ, I’ve decided the popularity of this blog is pointing me straight to the presidential office. Please follow millions of Americans, and vote for me.
Deep breathing … that’s what I’m practicing now that FCA Camp season is over. This year I added FCA Cheer Camp to my agenda, which is deserving of a post all on its own … check back later. After two camps in three weeks, I’m ready for down time! I hope to blog a bit more this summer and share more about recent happenings, but for now, here are some updates on our gardening adventure!Here’s a list of produce we’ve already enjoyed harvesting (some are still in process):
I’ve also really enjoyed the cut flower garden, which is finally really producing some great cut flowers. I was so excited to come home from Cheer Camp and see the gerber daisies doing so well! The other thing the Shinns seem to be experts at growing are gigantic marigolds! Here are a few pictures of things as they look right now (click hold cursor over the pictures to see captions):
Gas prices are getting ridiculous. Garth and I have both resorted to hypermiling. Garth is obsessive about it. When he leaves for work in the morning, he now puts his car in neutral, gives it a little push so it begins to roll down the slightly sloped driveway, and then turns on the engine as he’s rolling out. Probably saves us a $1.50 a year or so. But it helps. Ok … I’ve been doing it too. Actually, as I’ve been practicing my hypermiling techniques, I’m pretty amazed at the simple concept of inertia. You can get a lot of extra mileage on your car by just taking advantage of inertia. My Vibe weighs about 3200 pounds. When I get that much weight moving 30 mph, when I see a light up ahead turn yellow, I simply shift to neutral and can coast for a surprisingly long distance, sometimes even stretching the time such that the light turns green by the time I get there (which is a hypermiler’s goal). But, even at it’s best performance, I’m only getting about 32-35 mpg out of the Vibe …By my scooter … 60-70 mpg! And of course my bike is free. So I’m trying to opt for these more economical modes of transportation for as many errands as possible. Saturday morning I had a couple of stops to make … the post office to drop off and pick up mail, Home Depot to purchase a towel bar and a garden hose reel, and Island Feed and Seed to purchase some organic pest control for the garden (so that little bugger that’s eating things in our first box will STOP!) I knew going into this trip it was going to be adventurous for the scooter, but I’ve seen pictures like this one of people hauling some ridiculous loads (usually in India or Asia), so I thought I’d give it a try.
Well, I admit, I was a little nervous as I started strapping the hose reel on the back in the Home Depot parking lot. Two different men walked by and asked me how far I had to go, and if I wanted a ride. I smiled and assured them I’d be just fine (not quite sure myself). But I was able to strap it very securely, and proceeded on to Island Feed and Seed to purchase my pest control. I was pretty much out of room, but was able to hook it on the bag hook (just under the handle bars in the picture) and made it home safe and sound. So now I’m in the process of convincing Garth we can be a two scooter, 1 car family. Don’t you think he’d look great driving my scooter, and I’d look super cute driving this bad boy! This is a 2007 Aprilia Mojito … SWEET with the chrome drop handle bars and mini-Harley look. I love it! He’s not quite convinced … maybe we should poll the readers! What do you think??
This time I was certain I had a fool proof homemade wood floor cleaner. Vinegar, water, and bat poop. Yes. I was skeptical too … OK … I’m totally kidding. You think I’d put bat poop on my floors?? Probably … but I didn’t.
No … this is a different kind of casualty. In trying to drive less and bike more, I planned my day to combine my trip to the post office (to mail 100 letters as well as pick up what is sure to be a full box of mail) and a work out. I planned to bike. It’s a relatively quick trip, though I forgot to eat lunch and the head wind was about 50 mph, so at some points I was actually going backwards, which was frustrating. But I made the five mile trek in a bit over 20 minutes, which isn’t that much longer than it would have taken me to get there in the car, hit all the lights, etc. Plus, as I reasoned to myself several times when gale force winds blew me backwards, at least I’m also getting my workout in. These days I’m lucky if I get 3 workouts a week.
When I arrived at the post office I was quite happy to see the nice lady I know … her daughter plays basketball for Westmont, so I see her regularly at games. I waited patiently, a little curious why there was only one worker, but I was tired from fighting the 50 mph headwinds, so I took advantage of the rest time to carbo load and hydrate for the return trip, as I was certain the wind would shift and I’d have to fight the wind back as well. Drat … the not-so-nice man that I always seem to get stuck with came back from his break. I tried to calculate my chances of ending up with the nice lady, assuming every customer would require an equal amount of time and every other person in line would go to her, I was going to be OK. But as luck would have it, I got him. Now, I’ve been doing my FCA mailing at this branch for years. And as I mention, I almost always get this man. So I felt sure when I told him I had forgotten my box key as I handed him my license for identification purposes, he’d smile and run and grab my mail (which the nice lady has done several times for me). You see, the box key is on my key chain, which I didn’t need cause I was being green and biking the 20+ minutes in the 50 mph headwinds so future generations can actually still survive on the planet.
Now, you need a visual of this guy. He’s a combination (in both looks and demeanor) of the store manager in the movie, Serendipty, and the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld. I’ve seen not-so-nice man operate. He’s a rule follower to the letter. In fact, just before I walked up to the counter, a lady with about $35 worth of what appeared to be $.42 cent
stamps stuck to a box, slipped up to the counter without waiting in line and asked if she could just put the box in the collection box out front. He said, “You’ll have to go to the end of the line. I’ll need to process that.” She said, “But I have the correct amount of postage on the box.” “I’m sorry. You’ll need to go to the end of the line so I can put a sticker on it.” My hunch is the sticker said something like, “No stamps for you.”
Anyway, when I explained to not-so-nice man that I had forgotten my key and asked if he could just grab my mail, he said (in a “please don’t cross the line” kind of voice like the Serendipity store manager), “Oh no. The boss said we cannot do that anymore. You must have a key to access your box.” For fear of getting immediately ejected from the store, Seinfeld Soup Nazi style, I asked to purchase 200 stamps, moved away from the line to finish stamping my letters, aware that not-so-nice man would not care that I had just biked to the post office instead of driving, so his grandchildren would still have clean air to breathe and oil to power their lives. I had biked to the post office fighting the 50 mph headwinds, taking a total of 50 minutes out of my day to try to save the planet … and he couldn’t just give me my mail?
Thankfully, the winds didn’t shift and I enjoyed a nice tailwind on the way home, though it seemed to have slowed to about 7 mph at that point. My bike trip was a casualty in that I didn’t get to retrieve my mail, which I’m certain has a lot of Camp paperwork that I need to process, so I’ll need to return within the next 24 hours. I’ll probably succumb and just drive my gas-guzzling car, with little thought to not-so-nice man’s grandchildren. The extra trip will be just another casualty as I fumble along in the attempt to make some green changes in life.
Admittedly I haven’t done much research on this … just watched this video. You should too. It is a worthy question to ask ourselves … how will we take a stand in making changes? Will we go to this extreme? Probably not … but are there changes we will make? Many think we won’t have a choice … we will have to make some changes. I’ve got go … the goat is chasing Zak and Kins has her hand stuck in the new hand cranked clothes wringer.
