Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Light Rail Rocks

I'm here in Minneapolis for a long vacation, and I've been getting around by light rail (to be honest, I've also been mooching rides off friends -- mostly to the light rail station, except for today when I walked there - 45 minutes, brisk pace). The trains are clean and airy and so fun! Another bonus--in friendly MN, when I talk to strangers on the train -- they talk back. We have conversations. We interact. One cool thing about the train stops are these little boxes that look sort of official. There's a button in the middle that's begging to be pushed. So I read the inscription on one today-- "Thanks a Million. Small kindnesses, weather permitting. #28."  When I pressed the button, the box played a funny little song about MN. I was so excited, and kept trying to flag down strangers to listen with me, but it was rush hour and all the natives were plugged into iPods.


Share on Facebook
subscribe to our feed
Add to Technorati Favorites

Digg!

RECYCLE and REUSE in action

Sorry I haven't posted anything in 2 months. I've been busy. And I've been out of town for a month. I'm here in sunny, green, friendly MN, the land of milk and honey. I'm staying with my friends Tom and Sophie, and they are killer recyclers. In the old fashioned way -- they reuse everything that can't be recycled by their city recycling program.

1/They use a dehumidifier in the basement, and when it's full of water, they pour the water in the washing machine or use it for watering plants.


2/They realized that their radiators didn't need to be heating the walls, so they placed reflective insulation behind all of their radiators.  Now, the heat gets sent back into the room.. SO SMART.  

3/They reuse and reuse and reuse every plastic container they get. For snacks, for leftovers, for packed lunches. Same with plastic bags - they wash and reuse tons of times.  

Same with jam jars--which become drinking glasses!! 

4/They compost every food item -- starting in the kitchen unit, which gets emptied into a huge compost container in their backyard.
So, lesson here: what's better than recycling -- reusing until you can't find any more use.  Then recycle.

Naturally, I had to get them a house present for hosting me for a month. I found this funky vase at a consignment shop that fits perfectly in their red and orange-themed living room. 

Who knows how many times it was re-gifted before it landed in the shop. 
Who knows if my friends will re-gift it once I'm gone? Check out a close up of the funky detailing.



Bye, Bye........

Share on Facebook




subscribe to our feed
Add to Technorati Favorites

Digg!