What have you done?
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Based on the 2009 recap you can probably guess what some of my 2010 goals are without even reading this. But I’m doing it anyway, mostly for myself. This year it’s a shorter list, as some of the things from last year (changes in how I’m eating and things like that) are just how I do things now.
More Mid-Atlantic travel
Too bad Mobile, AL isn’t the Mid-Atlantic, because I’m going there next month! Maybe this year I will try to talk some folks into a trip to Annapolis or something.
Start learning how to use my D40 in manual mode
Still trying to figure out the best way to do this. I’m hoping a summer session class at Notre Dame might be a possibility. We’ll see.
Knit
I didn’t knit much this year, partially because I got a sewing machine in the spring and was using that a bunch, and partially because I had two sweater projects that both stalled out. But I think Mom was hoping for another pair of socks for her birthday, and one corner of my living room is dedicated to yarn. So I’m going to try and focus on smaller projects that are finished more quickly, and don’t have the issues of “does this fit and does it look good?” that a sweater has.
See Foxie Renard in action!
Last year some other things came up, and in the end I didn’t make it up to Providence to see Foxie skate. This year, however, I am going to make it happen. And I need to take a flight on Southwest by July in order to get a free round-trip, so this seems like a perfect excuse.
Go on a freakin’ date.
Hello, Internet dating. Nice to see you again (I think?).
http://www.fluevog.com/code/?w[0]=gender%3Awomen&p=8&pp=1&view=detail&colourID=2515
Rather than make resolutions, last year I came up with a loose list of goals for 2009. I thought it would be good to revisit them and see what happened. Read the rest of this entry »
You can tell it’s been a busy fall semester because all the posts are about my CSA pickups or are belated reports on what little I have managed to read before falling asleep. Some of these things I had intended to blog about, but since that’s clearly not going to happen, here’s a rundown of life so far this fall: Read the rest of this entry »
So last week, there was this whole Day in the Life of a Library thing happening that I had no idea about until I saw a couple of librarians posting on it last week. I haven’t been doing much that’s very exciting lately, but on Wednesday I thought that I would keep track of what I did and post it. This week I have actually pretty busy, but that’s partially because I was out on Thursday and Friday, and partially because the head of my department is pulling together our annual report, and needed various writeups from us by Friday. Read the rest of this entry »
In the last few weeks I have found myself thinking, and starting to do, a lot of things to live my life more sustainably. (I wish “sustainable” wasn’t such a buzzword right now, then maybe I wouldn’t sound so precious saying that.) As I thought about sharing my experiments and experiences in this forum, I found the well-trained (semi-) journalist in me wondering why. Why have I been thinking so much about what I consume (edibles and non-edibles) and the waste that’s generated by consuming it? How much influence is the media having on me as I think about these issues and make these new choices? Why am I so much more focused on this now, nearly 5 years after leaving a job at what was, at its core, an environmental advocacy group*? This couldn’t have come out of nowhere, so when were the seeds planted? What’s the context?
That brought me back to the beginning. So, travel in space and time with me to idyllic Douglas, Massachusetts, in the 80s and 90s. Check out the satellite and take a gander at how green it is. (Wait, Google street view has been to my tiny little hometown? What?) That’s where I grew up, in a house with a few acres encompassing a huge backyard, a front yard that could fit at least three Baltimore rowhomes, and a patch of woods leading back toward the Mumford River.
Looking back at it now, my family did a lot of things that would be considered “green” today. But the reasons why we did them were driven by frugality and a DIY ethos (one that my Dad and grandad would probably never in a million years refer to in that way). After all, it’s cheaper to fix and make things yourself, and to not buy a lot of expensive stuff when something cheaper will do the job just the same.
Talk about a personal touch – the other day I got an email from someone affiliated with the Holiday Mail for Heroes program, thanking me for spreading the word.
Not sure if you knew this, but our goal was to collect 1 million holiday cards to send to service members, veterans, and military families. I’m happy to report that our final count was 1,400,000 cards! We truly could not have accomplished this without your help. We are so grateful to you and all of the other bloggers who got involved!
To express our thanks, the Holiday Mail team put together a video for the blogging community. http://blip.tv/file/1643672/
It seems that (unbeknownst to me) they were making an effort to get the word about this spread virally online, and it seems that it worked. Not sure exactly how they were tracking blogs posts on the topic, but it’s really neat that they took the time after the campaign to reach out and say thanks.
This simple gesture says a lot about the folks behind this program (The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes).
I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions, but in looking back at 2008, a few things struck me. So, after mulling it over for a few days, I came up with some loose goals for 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
This was a big year for me, so it seems to warrant a backwards look. But I don’t feel like writing a long, reflective essay, so I am stealing an idea from a friend and going for the highlights, list-style. Links will take you to Flickr. Read the rest of this entry »
If you send holiday cards and always seem to wind up with a couple of extras, pop them in the mail to the Red Cross. They’ll be delivered to a wounded soldier or a veteran.
Please send cards to this address, following the guidelines listed below:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
I’ve obviously cut off the guidelines, so go take a quick look at them. Basically, your card must be postmarked by 12/10 and cannot contain any inserts (photos, gift cards) or your contact information.
If you have the resources to do more this year, you can send a calling card or a care package.
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