I've Been Sowing

Fingers crossed, within less than a month this dreary little window box will be exploding 

with wildflowers and alpine poppies.  Seeds were sown earlier this week on a beautiful 

sunny Spring afternoon.  As I write this, the weather's icky and gray and has been

spitting on that flower box all night.  But a little rain is just what those seeds need, alas I can't complain.  

I really need some respectable gardening tools, no?  That's a giant soup spoon (trowel)

 leaning against the measuring cup (watering can).  You can tell I'm new to this "gardening" thing.  

But I can't wait to learn!  

Free-dom, Peace, and Happiness

on the corner stoop

in a tattered brown box

are things for free

nubby sweaters

cracked handle-missing mugs

old mixed tapes of forgotten songs

a condom wrapper

- inappropriately discarded -

twelve mismatched forks

things loved once

now neglected

or never cared for at all

you may ride by on your bicycle

and behold this junk

it is offered up

for you to take

and use in your home

you may rummage through

pick nits

examine any loose threads

sniff

dust off with your hand

take your pick

take it all

take nothing

true

all things have a shelf-life

rotting damaged goods

get discounted prices

in the supermarket

but some things are good

for just a little while longer

past their expiration date

noelle boosinger, september 2007

I love love LOVE coming across "free" boxes and goods, and around SE Portland I find them quite often. I'll be coming home from work at noon or on my way to the grocery store when I spot something on the street corner. OH! Treasure! I really can't resist digging through every box or pile of discarded things - maybe at the bottom there's my prize. I've found/adopted so many items that are now some of my most cherished and unique pieces. Clothes, kitchen utensils, dish-ware, pillow-cases, picture frames, chairs...you name it and someone doesn't want it anymore so they're sharing it with you! Recycle, reduce...yeah those are great. But re-use! That's one of my favorite ways to save the planet. Sure, some things I find and fall in love with need repairs, re-purposing/up-cycling, cleaning or painting... but I get so excited anticipating exactly how it will look and fit into my life. Other things are golden from the get-go and I always feel like the luckiest person alive for being gifted that one perfect, meant-for-me thing. Either way, I'm always so grateful for the bounty I bring home, grateful for the wonderful possessions someone has kindly blessed me with, FOR FREE! Sweet!

Of course, how freeing it is to return the favor and offer my own gifts to those who want or need them. Every few months I purge and de-clutter the unneeded things around our home. Sometimes all I have to offer are a few pairs of shoes that gave me blisters or books that I can't resell, often found originally in free boxes. My husband and I are not keen on having a lot of stuff that we don't need and absolutely love. We're pretty minimalistic folks. However few, those items are staying out of the landfills and going to another home where they will be taken care of and cherished for a little while longer. That makes me feel so good!

How about you? Are "free" boxes plentiful in your neck of the woods? Or do you participate in swaps, freecyle, or bartering organizations? I'd love to hear about it.

Also, remind me and some day soon I'll write to you to share my awesome source for free women's clothing here in Portland!

A Few of my Favorite Things

Here's what I spied in... Apartment Eye-Spy

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New bamboo cutting boards! Our old one was a bit larger and we couldn't find a suitable place to store it besides directly on the counter. Because it sat out constantly, it wasn't taken care of properly (I've since gotten into better habits) and it began to crack as well as get this yucky waterlogged smell. These new ones get a quick wipe off or rinse, a dry, then they are hung up; once a week I lovingly oil them.

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Our wall of love. Sweet little notes, drawings, photos, and mementos, hung above our bed so we can be reminded of them often. I feel such an overwhelming sense of joy and peace when I re-read and re-visit all these wonderful memories my husband and I share.

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Vintage oil lamp that belonged to my grandparents on my father's side. It hung in their home for as long as I can remember until my Poppop passed away and my Nanny had to move into an assisted living home. I remember days when I would visit them as just a little one, five or six years old, begging Poppop to "make it rain" in the lamp. It was so magical to me. Sadly, it no longer works and I had to gut the inner-workings when it needed a major cleaning a few years back. But it will always be special for me, and it makes for unique focal point in our bathroom.

Flower Trailer on PS3

Have you had a rough day? Need a few moments of peace and relaxation between wrangling the kids into bed and tackling the dirty dishes from a week ago? Tranquility is at a finger's grasp - just pick up a joystick.

PlayStation three, a newer generation video game console, is paving the way for a very different sort of genre in video games that may change the common perception of gaming. The tradition of video gaming as mostly an alt-culture outlet offering aggressive, shoot-em-ups or exploration through macabre scenes populated with monsters and demons is very recently going through some transitions that promise it a brighter, more credible future as not only an entertainment outlet for the masses but also as an outlet of artistic expression in the mainstream world. Sony PlayStation is not the only console brand trying to branch out and create a wider customer base - Nintendo Wii has been making its name in popular culture by marketing to housewives, geriatrics, and tween girls. But where Wii is offering games in the spirit of quiz shows, fitness regimens, and petting zoos, PlayStation is making poetry.

Last February, PlayStation released Flower. My husband bought it for me as a Valentine's day gift, and it was such a breath of fresh air (pun intended) to play. He's a gamer, and since being with him, I have come to be somewhat of a gamer. I've only played a handful of games obsessively, all of them either cute, ethereal, or relaxing in some way. All of them non-violent. Flower fulfilled my prerequisites to a T. Though, truth be told, Flower is not one of those games I played with obsessive gusto... but it's not really that sort of game. And I find that to be a good thing.

Leave behind your stresses, the chaos of the outside world, the humdrum minutia of daily routine, the sterility and confinement of space in concretes, plastics, and glass. Now, imagine you're the wind. Light, free, a whisper, or a roar.

Here comes the sun!

I haven't been feeling all too well lately. This being day number 29 of the most persistent, clingy, won't-take-no-for-an-answer virus, I woke up sans sinus congestion, sans sore throat, and wished I could sleep another hour (per usual) but to my satisfaction I didn't feel like I couldn't function properly without it! The end of ill malaise is here, woot! As I munched on a fine breakfast [of homemade granola with plain yogurt and pb&j toast, if you're wondering] I surfed the internets. The handy weather widget on my home page promised sunshine, and it has delivered. It's a refreshingly comfortable day at 59 degrees. The icing on the cake was that I was given the night off from nannying - a pleasant surprise, and I fully welcome the chance to share some quality time with my husband and go to bed early!

So after leaving work at noon, with fair health, mood bright, and the imminence of Spring in mind, I pedaled over to Portland Nursery to get some supplies for what will be my very first season of container vegetable gardening! We have about 5 square feet, perhaps less, to work with on our front concrete landing, so we'll have a decidedly modest selection of veggies. I bought seeds for Roma Tomatoes, Cocozelle Squash, Yolo Wonder Peppers, and Little Finger Carrots. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of picking up the conventional, non-organic variety of the pepper and carrot seeds, so I'll have to exchange those two for organic. No worries, it's still a little too soon to sow outdoors and I don't think I'll start them indoors. I have such bad luck growing anything in this apartment besides the ever-forgiving pothos plants, so I'd hate for all my efforts to be in vain.

And there's a question: Is there some sort of encyclopedic handbook of gardening that folks refer to and might recommend for those of us just getting our feet wet? Or should I just try to go with the little tidbit of guidance on the back of my seed packets? I really want to be successful with this, so I'd appreciate any help I could get!

Well, nothing more worthy to note, so I'll leave you with some things to gaze and guess at:

Apartment Eye-Spy

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Covet the light,

...gather every warm ray, look up for the sun and delight in it as though it were your very first morning and forever new, tuck it greedily in big-bellied bottles and wide-mouthed jars to be released and shared when the light is so much scarcer.

I'm late in posting this morning because I was waiting ever-so patiently for the sun to peek out of the clouds - so I could get some good photos. It hasn't returned, but there were moments when the clouds were just barely illuminated in a whiter shade of gray... so I emptied out the light some kind folk had stored away for me (in handy lamp light-bulbs) to share with you all.

Here's what I spied yesterday in...Apartment Eye-Spy

        

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hand-crafted tea pot, found in a Free box because it's missing a lid, now is home to an orchid that hasn't bloomed in two years

paper cranes strung up on string encircle a dead fichus

cracked ceramic tea-light lantern, found in a Free box, hangs unassumingly in our bedroom corner

Take a Look

A while back I did a couple of posts on the theme of "Apartment Eye-Spy" - a few simple images capturing part or the whole of things around my home (a glass bottle with a flower in it, a dish with some river stones, etc.). If you weren't around then, or if your memory fails you, like mine forever does, you can re-visit those posts here: A Watchful Gray Laze Day; Drizzle Drip Go the Raindrops.

Well I really liked the concept of sharing those tiny snippets as a way for you to have a peek into the space where I dwell, and it was nice to see my own home from a slightly different, pared down perspective. From now on, "Apartment Eye-Spy" will be a regular feature on Cozy Little Life. Maybe I'll post every Friday and call it "Friday Eye-Spy." When I get a bit more readership over time (there's a hint of optimism), I may turn it into an actual game - I post the picture, you take a guess at what it is. Meh, we'll see how it goes.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment of "Eye-Spy" coming this weekend!

Just The Tiniest of Glimpses

Apartment Eye-Spy

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Care to take a guess at what these are?

Come by for a visit tomorrow morning and I'll tell you what I spy.

kitty-chat

Having the "birds and bees" talk just misses the mark when you're talking to an adolescent feline.

Plastic is So Passe

Many of my favorite bloggers (see my "inspiration" blog roll) have been participating in the One Small Change project this year. In a nutshell, each month, these families have been carefully choosing one thing in their lives that they can eliminate/up-cycle/change/etc., however seemingly small, to make a collectively huge impact on the environment and global health. How awesome is that? Anyone can join in, and blog about their experiences, or not. And your "One" thing could be anything, really.

Here's an example: stop using plastic grocery bags and get in the habit of bringing your own re-usable bags.

Easy-peezy! Many people are already on that bandwagon [bus], if not every time they purchase something then at least occasionally when they can remember to bring along bags. But if you're one of those folks who is still dragging his/her heels and holding firm to their beloved plastic bags, and maybe you're looking for a little bit of incentive (besides a healthy, thriving future for our planet and whatnot) before you give it a try... Mambo Sprouts and BlueAvocado have teamed up in a Shopping Bag Giveaway. It's a cinch to enter, and you can pass on the word for an additional entry. I've entered myself in the contest, and now I'm sharing the chance with you to win (how sweet of me!)

Admittedly, I hopped on the re-usable bag bus and have been cruising along joyfully, guilt-free, for a long while now. It wasn't very hard for me. I'm not a purse kind of person - I commute by bike daily (my husband and I don't own cars) and I always have a backpack strapped on my shoulders. So I can carry everything I would normally carry in a purse, in addition to being able to throw several grocery items, or clothing purchases, or snacks, or whatever in there. And I keep one or two re-usable shopping bags in the backpack, so I'll always have it handy. Truth be told, I've come to have quite a collection of re-usable bags over the years, but I never pass up an opportunity for another one. Especially if it's a non-ugly one (most of BlueAvocado's bags are decidedly cute!), and most especially if it's absolutely free!

Yay!