Outsourced

so I'm showing my wonderful multi-purpose bags to the manager of a gourmet food and wine store. She loves them immediately. " they're re purposed, carry a lot, have a very cool food connection, and best of all they are soooo cute". OK, she loves them. then we get to price. I actually see her natural, easy smile become plastered on her face. How does she reconcile her genuine love of all things green, designed and MADE locally, and cute; with the bottom dollar. She brings over some plain canvas totes. They are sturdy and carry the label of a well known national company; and that is all, nothing green or re-purposed or cute about them. Oh, except the fact that they are "made in China". She then points out the price differential to me. In case the word hasn't got out, the reason designers have their goods made overseas is because it's WAY cheaper. So in a very "gentle" way I point this out to her. Now one of the really amazing things here, is that I have been able to keep my price quite low. I have a wonderful fabricator right here in S.F. who is keeping the cost as low as he can. So not to get too preachy 'cause I'm a firm believer in the "catch more flies with honey" theory, but the reality is that if we want to support our local artisans, we might have to pay a couple pennies more. Just make sure what you're getting is way cute; you'll never regret it.

scheduling green

so I'm watching Flight of the Conchords the other night; if you haven't checked these dudes out, do. Thier hip-hop and rock parodies are hysterical. Anyway they have this one, a sexy soul song called "Business Time". All about scheduling "luv makin'", on a wed. night after brushing teeth and putting out the recycling. So this gets me thinking about scheduling EVERYTHING. I mean I guess to a degree if ya' don't ya' just won't.
Now I tend to be a very, what I would call spontaneous person, another might call scatered. Consequently I'm sometimes in a panic trying to get things done. But I'll also leap off the bus to rescue those red plastic discs someone threw in the gutter; and they did make awesome earrings. Of course then I have to take off my shoes so I can make a mad dash for the bus connection I needed.
So although without tuesday night scheduling for recycling pickup it just wouldn't get done; my silliness of at times skipping through life has me picking up the discarded for a new life.
Both work, just find what suits you, 'cause if it doesn't ya' just won't do it.

turning green

... and not becoming a green neurotic.
So I'm sitting here in my BFs kitchen with my mug of green tea trying not to leap up every time he throws a scrap of paper in the trash. " no wait, you know the cardboard toilet paper roll goes in recycling". This can be REALLY irritating. I KNOW this and yet ... . I grew up pretty green, though it was by way of economics, (don't throw stuff away if it still has use), and esthetics, (cloth napkins ARE so much nicer than paper). Not having a car was more a byproduct of having parents from big cities, NY and London, then anything else.
I have someone very close to me, I'm not a name namer, who's TOTALLY whacked about this. I will not become her, and yet .. My mom's who's probablly one of the most "naturally" green people on the planet, let's a teeny-weeny piece of paper fly up into the sky and I jump down her throat like she just personally poured oil over all the marine life on the continent. At work I try to surreptitiously take the paper out of the garbage and put it in the recycling bin. And yet ms green here luvs lux. Evenings all legs in killer heels does not see me on a bike; though, LOL, I did take a bus a couple of years ago on NYE dressed in a sheer white evening gown. WAIT, the BF's out of the room. Gotta' get that food covered foil out of the garbage before he sees.

trains and how a scarf made my trip

A few years ago I'm living in Miami and I have to return to SF unexpectedly. Broke, I'm somehow able to get a very cheap train ticket. It's cold on my first night and in my haste to pack I have nothing for warmth, except a very large and beautiful scarf/shawl. I wrap myself in it, mummy-like, and am so thankful for my instant sleeping bag. Bleary-eyed in the morning I crave some privacy. Slumped down in my seat I envy those who wake up in a sleeper car. WAIT, my mummy bag. I unwrap myself and tieing and tacking my scarf becomes a seat divider. I am in my very small but private seat-space. I gaze lovingly at my scarf. That evening the train comes to a screeching halt. Yikes. Well, 15 hours later and we are still stuck in the middle of nowhere, and as circumstances like this make for odd bonding, my new bff's are these two guys going to a family wedding. A couple of hours more and I'm going to the wedding with them, only problem is I have nothing to wear. The next day I find myself in the lovely home of thier sweet but very mainstream parents. I'm givem some slack 'cause they see me as an arty SF girl. OMG, no dress. I stand in front of the full lengh mirror in the guest bedroom. Twisting and turning and tieing, this shawl WILL become a dress. This way's too sexy, that way's too messy. I finally work out a halterish knee-lengh thingy. Belted it'll work. It's all the rage at the wedding and a couple of days later back in SF with my scarf wrapped muffler-like around my neck, I realize you can make anything work, if you just re-work; and work it.

so my friend Troy, and the sister of my fabulous Web Mistress Reine, was out with her 3 gorgeous triplets; and of course she was using her wonderful GreenStyled bag. she loves it, 'cause not only does it carry a LOT, it's it's fahionable and green and different, all at the same time, just like her. Her dad is with them and he's like close to 90 I think. So Troy sets her GreenStyled bag down and John, that's her dad, says "hey look, somebody laft a bag of onions here" ... repurposing ain't his bag