Wish you were here

One day when I've got Seattle in our rearview mirror, I will not think of my time here as lonely. But the truth is, some days are. Seattle's not to blame; there's been moments or stretches of loneliness in every city, at every age. There's something about cold winter days, being stuck inside, living on a budget, that makes days seem a little long. All I want to do is drink coffee and watch movies, but Edie does not think that's a good way to spend our day.

Loneliness can lead to productivity, or it can lead to wasting time on the internet, or to cleaning house, or cooking, or writing that email I've been meaning to write. Some days I wish I lived near my mom or sister or Michelle. Most of my friends I make plans with ahead of time. I don't just swing by their house and watch t.v. We plan events. With my family ladies, I could drop by unannounced with my baby, sit at the kitchen table talking and drinking coffee, chopping carrots to make chicken pot pie for dinner. That is what I want to do today.

This afternoon Edie and I sat at our front window, watching people walk by and crows pick around our yard. Edie talked to the birds and made confetti out of Kleenex. Dave will be home soon, and I might convince him to treat me to a lamb burger and glass of red wine at Eva. And I rented Stand by Me. Sounds like a suitable, wintery Saturday night date.

My Smart and Motivated Friends Part I: Clean Livin'

One morning this winter I was washing dishes or sweeping the floor, immersed in some passive activity, thinking of how proud I am to have friends who are organic farmers, recycling-business owners, and environmentalists. I have friends who do honorable things with their time and energy, and want to shed light on their endeavors.


Let me introduce you to Rachel. Like me, she's an East Coast transplant who settled here with her husband and 3-year old daughter. I met Rachel through a former colleague of my sister. Years back when I was moving cross-country, he passed on Rachel's number and told me to look her up. We hit it off after a few hip-hop classes with a teacher named Dax, and the rest is history.

Always a green gal, Rachel began volunteering for the Washington Toxics Coalition to satisfy her interest in toxics such as pesticides and mold. To be honest, I've always been annoyed when asked to take my shoes off in my friends' homes. They're part of my outfit, okay? Well, there's a ton of chemicals on our streets and sidewalks, and those chemicals swell whenever it rains and carries runoff. You wear shoes in your house, you track all that junk inside. If you have kids who play on the floor, you expose them to lead and other surprises from our periodic table. So now I get it. We take off our shoes.
"Come in! And take off your shoes, fools".

Rachel has applied her knowledge of green living to create a consulting company, Healthy Home Focus. She also got certified by the American Lung Association to assess families' homes and advise on improving air quality (think asthma due to mold spores).

Tonight I was dealing with a slow tub train, and reached for the Drano. While reading the directions, the label essentially said if you hold this product too long it'll make your eyeballs bleed and burn your skin off. I couldn't bring myself to use it, so I turned to Healthy Home Resources to see what Rachel would do. Here's the green prescription: 1/2 cup of baking soda, followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Cover, let sit for 5 minutes, then flush with a pot of boiling water.

I did the whole thing twice- and it worked! And now we're not going to die with Xs over our eyes from poisonous gases. Hooray for Healthy Home Resources! And stay tuned for Part II of this series...