Gas For Under $4/ Gallon!

Chevron station at Rosecrans St and Sports Arena Blvd

Actually this was one week ago--and today I refilled the car for $3.89/ gallon. Of course we have to seek the cheaper places out, and gas was less expensive when we arrived in February. We're still painfully aware of the price of gas--especially with a 20 year old car that gets 23 mpg, on a good day--so we're part of the millions of Americans conserving in little ways: Matt's been carpooling lately, I take the Coaster to class on Tuesdays, we drive slower (65 vs 80 mph on the freeways) and I certainly think about my routes and trip chain whenever possible. New to trip chaining? Here's a little blurb about it from the California Center for Sustainable Energy.

"In 1995 this term was used in a study done by the U.S. Department of Transportation to study the declination of personal trips carried out by public transit. Every stop was considered a chain along the entire trip, from the moment you left the house until you returned.

The term is now used to describe the ideology of combining all of your errands into a planned out route that will save you time and money, something familiar to most all of us in our busy and increasingly expensive lives.

UPS has taken this method and implemented into its daily operations. Truck routes are now preplanned utilizing only right turns to avoid waiting at left turn signals. They estimate they are saving around three million gallons of fuel per year with this plan."

Kayaking In La Jolla Cove

We gear up before heading down to the water, and the La Jolla Caves that we weren't allowed to approach beyond this point.

About a month ago, our friend Nico visited from LA, and the three of us joined a group to go kayaking to the La Jolla Caves in La Jolla Cove. Why I thought our group was going to be the only one, I have no idea. There are a number of outdoor adventure shops in the area, this tour was our company's most popular, and it was a (mostly) sunny Saturday in July--something should have warned me to expect to see more people than wildlife. Maybe it was this picture on the Hike Bike Kayak web site that allowed me to envision a more peaceful outing.



instead of


I don't mean to make it sound like we didn't have fun. It's just that we spent a good portion of our time being kept in a tight space so that they didn't lose track of anyone as we waited to individually go into this one cave for less than a minute (btw, the cave smelled like bird poop). First we had to let another tour group from a different company go through the same process. Matt kept straying out too far, requiring the 17 year old secondary guide to paddle out to usher him back. Matt actually got called a trouble maker. Ha ha!

Nico and Matt paddling in perfect sync.

The seals, sea lions, cormorants, and brown pelicans were in abundance, and a sea turtle (spied by Matt and Nico) and tiger sharks made an appearance. The three of us really enjoyed being out on the water--Matt so much that he jumped in when given the chance. If the day had been warmer, I would have joined him. But then who would have been there to take these photos?


Matt making his way back to the kayak, and there he is sporting his super white legs.

Green Home Ec 101

My mom had instilled in me the need to reuse plastic storage bags--but I had never found a convenient way to dry them. Ideally I wouldn't use them at all--but they are so handy and don't take up much space. I had tried hanging the washed out bags over the ends of pots that I had in the drying rack, but they always seemed to fall off and get wet or dirty again. I think I washed about one out of 10 bags, and I gave myself a good dose of Catholic guilt for the other nine bags I threw away.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading architect Michelle Kaufmann's blog (green ideas, sustainable, modern design, fun eco-friendly projects), and she had a post entitled "green it yourself: planted bag dryer." Finally, an easy, cheap, water-friendly and aesthetically pleasing way to dry those bags.

easy=I didn't even bother with the wire hanger, just used two chopsticks we already had.

cheap=The succulent cost me around $2.

water-friendly=I'll never have to water the succulent, as it receives it's minuscule amount of necessary hydration from the drying bags.

aesthetically pleasing=The plant is adorable, and I haven't even covered the pot with stylish scraps from design magazines. I may not as the Asian-esque plate it's sitting on works well with the chop sticks.


My version of the planted bag dryer.

Now, am I reusing more plastic storage bags? Absolutely! It's only if raw meat has touched the bag that I'll throw out a bag in good shape. I just get squeamish about such things. However, I mostly put such items in glass bowls, so I'm at about nine out of 10 bags being washed and dried. That one bag that gets thrown out is most often the one that finally gives up and tears.

I'm certainly not making a big dent in helping San Diego's water crisis, but I'm happy with my baby steps.

Summer Refreshers

Kukicha and mint tea cooling off.

I've never been a tea fan of any kind, and even after a year in Cambridge, I only made it as far as drinking hot herbal teas once or twice a week. Upon return to the States, I could only find my favorite herbal tea, Decaf Earl Grey Roobios, in loose leaf form online, so I ordered some and a sampler of caffeinated teas for Matt. Surprisingly, I really liked the nuttiness of Kukicha, a Japanese blend of green tea made from twigs, stems and stalks of the Camellia sinensis. Kukicha actually means twig tea (I think). It has the lowest caffeine levels of all traditional teas, which is probably one of the reasons that I like it.

Fresh mint growing on our balcony, and the Kukicha and mint ready to be steeped.

It has been quite warm here lately. I've been craving a refreshing drink and hot tea just isn't appealing. So I am now one of the legions of Americans who brew hot tea and enjoy it later, once it is quite cool. Our version is not only different because of the choice of tea, but we're also using fresh mint from our balcony herb garden. Mint certainly does grow like a weed, so there are always enough leaves to throw in with the twiggy tea while steeping. Green tea should only steep for three minutes, and we've found that although the mint and tea are removed at this time, the mint flavor is stronger once the tea is cold. I guess the mint oils just continue to infuse the concoction.

While this is my new favorite anytime summer refresher, I have to give a shout out to the Cucumber Cooler I had at lunch on Saturday at the Montage in Laguna Beach: cucumber infused vodka, champagne and elderflower syrup served over ice and fresh cucumber slices. Oh my, that's a heavenly drink!

Thursday Stroll to the Farmers Market

Weekly haul from the local farmers market.

With so many fruits and veggies in season, I had to start bringing the red cart to carry home my weekly farmers market shopping. (And for those who noticed--no, I don't consider Whole Foods to be a farmers market, I was just reusing the bags). While 'in season' is a subjective term in Southern California, I didn't see corn, raspberries, melons (loving the cantaloupe and honeydew hybrid) and peaches in the winter/ early spring. Actually, this Thursday market that I walk to doesn't have much produce at all before May--just flowers. Too bad I never learned to can fruit.

Our favorite now has to be the fresh kale and chard. I just chop it up into small pieces, mix it in with whatever other veggies we have, drizzle some dressing on it and call it a salad. When I went to the market last week, I thought I arrived too late to get the kale. Turns out the local growers are only allotted a certain amount of water (San Diego is officially in a drought), so they can't plant as much as they'd like. Doesn't make sense that people can water their lawns but farmers cannot water their crops.

Catching Up A Bit--June Trip to Los Angeles

With Matt's family in town for Lindsey and Jason's wedding (posts on this to come) and my trip to the DC area, I'm a bit behind in email and blog posts. I'm finding that once one gets out of the habit of blogging regularly, it can be hard to set aside the time again (just like with the gym, which I'm also not keeping up with as much). Even though I still don't have a job, looking for work, taking classes, studying, entertaining guests, being a guest, and 'taking care of the house' can take up a lot of one's time.

Over the summer solstice weekend, Matt and I were in LA to visit with friends. I went up a day early (yeah for public transportation, boo for public transportation taking over an hour longer than scheduled) to spend time with the gaming group. Tyler picked me at Union Station in LA, and after our attempt to visit the Getty Villa was thwarted (who knew you still needed reservations for a weekday?), we checked out the new BCAM building and exhibits at LACMA and the new architecture museum across the street. Tyler also had time to show me the parabolic listening device he was developing for a sound-based art show in Pasadena and to increase the ring size on a ring my sister had brought back for me from Barbados. He's the handy, artsy-but-not-pretentious brother I never had.


Tyler using his dremel to make my ring fit better, and part of his parabolic sound installation.


The piece assembled and in place in Pasadena. It is "modeled after similar devices used during WWI before the advent of radar."

As for gaming, the important thing is Eric, Tyler, Shawn and I were all together (Nico showed up as well as a guest gamer). Although we fit in a not-particularly-healthy meal (this one at Marie Callender's), and not particularly tasteful video watching (Wonder Showzen, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!), we actually didn't have time for gaming. Outrageous, I know. Our priorities are obviously in question.


Eric and Tyler at Marie Callender's--we really did have fun (it's just that all of my photos kinda sucked).

The next morning Matt arrived, and we had brunch with Dom at my favorite type of restaurant--one with a French name. Dom and I have been friends for years (he went to college with my sister at U of MD), and he jokes that I'll only eat brunch at a place with a Le, La, Les or Cafe in the name. While not technically fitting this requirement, Comme Ca is very French. We actually split an excellent carafe of white wine to fit in (this was a carafe for one person, but we eeked out three glasses from it). I highly recommend the bacon--it was amazing. I might just skip the eggs and double up on the bacon for the next visit.


Me, Dom and Matt outside of Comme Ca on Melrose.

In the evening Matt and I split up--he spent the night with Tim and Elias, and I went to celebrate Tyler's 28th birthday with Shawn and Nico. After dinner at the Lebanese/Armenian/Middle Eastern Marouch, we traveled (minus Nico) to have a drink at the Bonaventure in downtown LA. The drinks are overpriced, but the revolving rooftop restaurant affords a sweet view of the city. Plus the glass elevator ride up to the 35th floor is always fun (or terrifying if heights don't agree with you).


Shawn and Tyler watching the traffic below, and the Bonaventure (the light with the red glow around it is the elevator).

Yeah for Independence Day Parties!

Carolyn always supplies the fun accessories.

Although my quick trip to the DC area was to help my grandmother after a minor surgery, her extended stay in the hospital meant that I spent more time than planned with my mom, dad and sister. After spending the morning with my grandmother, I made it to my sister and brother-in-law's July 4th bash featuring Adam's famous brisket.


Tequila is the perfect way to catch-up with old friends.

Since I've met many of Carolyn's friends, I didn't feel like the odd person out. A true bonus was my college friend Roberto showing up on his way to meet friends in DC. Carolyn and Bobby had met before, and as you can tell from the picture above, they get along just fine.

I also have to highlight Carolyn's flower garden which borders her driveway. This picture doesn't do her efforts justice, but it gives you an idea of who has the greenest thumb in the family. The hollyhocks are beautiful and impressive.