Glue&Glitter

It’s our anniversary! Dave and I have been together for eight years and married for two. He is the kindest, smartest, funniest person that I know.

This might be the coolest mod I’ve ever seen. That’s a My Little Pony turned Stormtrooper! Holy crap. Way better than the mohawks I gave my My Little Pony when I was a kiddo.

[via Toycutter]

Hey remember how excited I was about this kitchen composter? It was a disaster. Disaster! We bought some bokashi at the ACE in East Atlanta, shook it on in between layers of food scraps and coffee grounds and the composter betrayed us! I can’t even describe the smell that came out of this thing when we opened it. What went wrong?? I’d be willing to give it another chance, but I need some encouragement. I can’t risk almost barfing on the kitchen floor again. For now, we’re back to collecting scraps in a bowl and dumping them in the bin out back.

Booooo!

The letter below reminds me a lot of something that happened to me. I was riding down 10th Street in the right hand lane. Rather than pass me in the empty left lane, a giant SUV swerved towards me, nearly running me into a ditch. At the next light, the driver rolled down the window to shriek that I should be riding on the sidewalk (untrue/illegal), and he knew because he was a cyclist, too! I guess he was a cyclist with no belief in Karma?

Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, had a run-in today with a NY state senator. Or, I guess, you could call it a near run in? Here’s his open letter to Senator Jeff Klein
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[image from decor8]

Spoonflower is considering organic cotton! You can read all about it on my post to Crafting a Green World!

Squee! I didn’t want to say anything until things were officially up and running, but I’m doing some writing for a few green blogs. My very first post about Sopo Bike Co-op is on Ecolocalizer this morning. There are a few different places that I’m contributing to, and you can subscribe to all my posts for them right here!

I wasn’t even going to mention this here, because I didn’t want to have any kind of pity party about it. I got mugged on Tuesday evening. It happened just 3 or 4 houses down from my own. The fellow was walking towards me, and I said, “Hey.” He replied, “Hey, gimme your purse.”

The thing about it that Dave got stuck on is that the first thing I said, before I started to scream for help and sort of lose it a little, was, “…really??”

I raised quite the ruckus, and every neighbor on my street came running out to see what the hubbub was about. My across the street neighbor, Jules, chased the kid down until he dropped my bag! Can you believe it? The woman chased after him, her kids’ toy and a Netflix in her hand, until he gave up and dropped my stuff. Unbelievable! This woman is a hero.

It feels like there are two things you can take from this little incident. The first, of course, is the power of people and community. I’m incredibly lucky to live on the street that I do. My neighbors were wonderful. Everyone came to check if I was alright, and a kind woman even called 911 for me. Cherry, my next door neighbor, stood on her porch while I talked to a police officer on my own. It was comforting to have someone I knew right there.

The second thing is about independence. The whole thing isn’t about my purse. It would have totally sucked if he’d gotten away with it, but it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. The real thing he took was my confidence, and I kind of think that’s what that “…really?” was all about. If this was really happening, it was changing the game. I haven’t walked to the train since it happened, and I don’t plan to today, either. Maybe on Monday I’ll feel brave enough, if I don’t carry a purse. I guess the question I have is: how do you get that back? Relying on Dave and my friends for rides is fine for the moment…folks understand that I’m a little spooked. Over time, though, something like that would just make me feel like a complete mooch. Living car free up until now has been no problem. My feet can get me pretty much anywhere I need to be. I never thought I’d lose that feeling. How do you get it back?

Incidentally, the fellow who tried to snatch my purse was of pretty much average height with dreads about the length of my hand. He had on a Rock Star Energy Drink shirt and apparently hangs around Edgewood lately. Some neighbors said they had seen him around. If you see him, you might cross the street or call 911. The cop who works our neighborhood is named Mac, and he’s chased this kid on foot before.

Yap! It’s another Lunch Kit featuring the lollipop trees that I love so well these days. I sent out my very first kit with the Utensil Wallet today! It’s headed right this moment up to British Columbia! Lori has mentioned before that her art gets to travel to more fun places than she does, and I totally feel her. That situation will be remedied soon enough, though! Dave and I are taking a second honeymoon in a few months! To London! I can’t waaaaaaaiiittt!!