Kickin' it Off!

Public Allies Bridgeport held their Bridgeport Beautifies March into Spring kick off this past Thursday! Despite this surprisingly snowy spring, we are looking forward to getting into the streets and gardens.

Mayor Bill Finch stopped by to say some words of encouragement. This guy loves beautification projects.

We had all kinds of food, snazzy music, and a wealth of spirited Allies. Kick it off, Bpt. We are rising.

Cape Cod Getaway

I am on my way back from a Cape Cod getaway weekend with Lover. It's off-season, so there's little traffic, fewer people, and only a handful of open shops and restaurants. Love it.

We visited P-town and stopped at my favorite used books store. I picked up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" for $8.00. We sat down for truffles and hot chocolate at "The Purple Feather," and perused open shops.

I worked on a new project... I'm pretty excited about something coming up.. A new venture in life. This project is the start of it. You'll be among the first to see the finished product. ;)

We walked along the beach. Malai looks so happy! The first time I took her to see the ocean, it scared her. Now she runs around, sniffing the piles of seaweed and mounds of dry sea oats. She's had so much more energy and vigor since she's lost weight!

Here's wishing you all a happy spring!

Washington, D.C.

I love to travel, mostly because I love to absorb the energy of new places, take in new things and ideas, and shirk usual routines and household responsibilities. When Lover told me that he had a business meeting in Washington, D.C., I was instantly jealous. It's one of my favorite cities to visit, with such a wealth of museums and history.

Well, I got to go! I met him last Monday evening, and we went for a walk along the Mall. I love to see the memorials lit up at night. I'm generally not sentimental about political and military history, and I despise war and violence. However, I love the memorials, because they become something positive. It's art uniting citizens. These are tools for teaching future generations about the effect of certain founding fathers, or the toll of war. When I look at the US memorials, I know memorials stand in other countries for those same wars. I know other people stand before them, like me. I know that things got to a point where diplomacy was either ignored or refused, and violence was used (or someone decided Germany wasn't enough for them and got a little big for their britches...). I know people who didn't necessarily want to serve, served. I know families suffered on both sides.


On Tuesday, we walked around the Air and Space Museum, The American Craft Museum, The National Gallery, and the International Spy Museum. At the Gallery, I saw a few favorites pieces:

 

 I love the color and movement within a Georgia O'Keefe. As for Gauguin, what a life! Beach living, half-naked women, and painting. Too bad he died of syphilis.

Also, the cherry blossoms were right at the precipice of explosive beauty. 

Even if it's just to cozy up with a friend at their house, sometimes it's nice to get out of our usual environment and take a breather in fresh air. Going anywhere this spring?

Starting Your Own Neighborhood Clean Up

Our big day event is April 30th, when we join Groundwork Bridgeport in their Park City Sweep!

Some residents in Bridgeport are getting motivated! Cecilia Chavez has been sharing "before" photos of her street on our Facebook:

She tells us she's really excited about posting the "after" pictures!

Here are some ideas for starting your own neighborhood clean up:

• Contact your neighbors and show them your excitement for taking ownership of your street! This may require door knocking, since flyers may only add to the garbage you're trying to get rid of!
• Note who is the most excited and get them involved in the planning.
• Especially take an interest in people who are maintaining their yards - they may be your best allies in taking on the street!
• See if your local municipality allows you free access to dumpsters for a neighborhood clean up. You never know if you might qualify.
• In Bridgeport, check out the Neighborhood Revitalization Zone!
• Name a day that'll be the Big Day...and always plan a rain date!
• Break up volunteers into teams on the Big Day. People who will sort garbage - recyclables in one, waste in another; people who will search the streets cleaning up refuse; and others who will deliver recyclables to the recycling center.
• Make sure you have supplies - garbage bags and gloves are a must!
• Will you serve water? Snacks?
• Celebrate with a potluck style BBQ! Reward yourself and everyone else for all the hard work!

Please add any more tips if you've got 'em!

Spring...and Snow

Ahhh, the first snow of springtime.

What?

Well, whatever. The crocuses are going to look dashing against the white. It'll melt. What's that again about climate change?*


Happily, Lover and I, with the help of his parents, cleaned up the yard yesterday beneath a bright sun and in a chilly air. We picked up all the branches the wind pruned from the trees over the winter, broke them down, and put them in a huge pot to use as kindling for the firepit. We raked up the last of the leaves matted in dirt and stuck in corners. Can't wait to build the new composter so we can get it all in there. We took down our holiday lights (yes! we still had them up!), coiled them around cardboard, and put them away in the shed.

Last week I started all my tomato, pepper, onion, and leek seeds. I filled a 72 cell tray with pro-mix soil, scratched in worm castings from the vermicomposter, and set the tray upon a heat mat beneath a grow light. Two days later, little green guys sprouted. Now on day 5, half the tray has sprouted! I couldn't be more pleased.

We went to a Garden Expo over the weekend, and found a company that sells organic compost. Last fall, Lover and I built a raised garden bed in the backyard, and have yet to fill it. In April or the beginning of May, we'll get it delivered and into the bed. The seeds will be ready to transplant outdoors beneath homemade cloches (I'm reusing the million plastic water bottles that my roommate goes through!).

Are you gardening, too? Tell me all about it! Also, if anyone's in the area, I have a ton of heirloom seeds I can share/swap/give/etc!



*I'm aware of the process of climate change, and that scientists believe that humans are most likely responsible for speeding up the process. I was using sarcasm.

Weekly Wrap-Up 2 of March

Spring breeze -
the pine on the ridge
whispers it

The nights are cold, but the days are full of sunshine and the crocus are showing their colors in the front yard. Spring has finally touched upon New England.


Highlights of the past week or two include:

Seed starting! I filled up a 72 cell tray with peppers both hot and sweet, tomatoes large and small, and onions and leeks. I scratched in some worm castings from the vermicomposter, placed them on a heat mat, and beneath a grow light. This was Thursday night. Saturday night, I was ever so surprised and pleased!

Mini Vacation! Lover had a business meeting in Washington, D.C. I took the train down to meet him Monday night. We walked around the Mall to see the memorials lit up at night. On Tuesday, we visited the American Craft Museum, the Air and Space Museum, The National Gallery (both the West Wing and the East Wing), and the International Spy Museum.

New discovery. I was absolutely thrilled to discover a very chic craft store called "Make & Mingle" in the town of Fairfield. You can check this store out before a movie at the Fairfield theater, and then hit up Las Vetas for coffee. All in one area!

Maw. There's still an algae problem in the goldfish tank. I didn't want to add one more animal to the small aquarium, but I also don't want to use a chemical algae-cide. So, I got an algae-eating plecostomus named "Maw." We have an albino version in the other tank named "Valve" and he has really kept it spotless! Maw looks like the pic below.

Outliers. I read Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" on the train traveling to DC. I would strongly recommend it to anyone! It dispels the compelling American myth of the self-made man or woman, and portrays how no one is made successful without both practice and opportunity. It also touches on many other topics, including education and entitlement..

All in all, it's been a pretty good week. Next week we have our kick-off for Bridgeport Beautifies, a trip to Cape Cod, and to see "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo."

Etsy Love

McGivney Mural

This week hailed the start of mural workshops for us Public Allies in Bridgeport. I and my "mural pod" partner Shon facilitated workshops with lead artist Sergio Escobar.

The McGivney Community Center caters to a slew of kids in an after school program that helps them with their homework and exposes them to new experiences and opportunities to build skills. On the side of the building hangs a mural painted on plywood. It's been there for about 8 or 9 years, and somewhere in the duration of its existence, got tagged.

This week, the kids named themes for a mural, talked about community, engaged in team building games, and came up with their own drawings for design ideas. Next week the paint meets the plywood!

March Picks on Etsy

Check it out! These are my picks for March - stuff I think is awesome, and that you might love as well!

ETSY LOVE <---click me!

Crabby likes Etsy, too.

Bridgeport Beautifies

I'm highlighting my new favorite blog: Bridgeport Beautifies!

Learn all about seed bombing and moss graffiti:

http://bridgeportbeautifies.blogspot.com

Weekly Wrap-Up, Mar 7

The gears have been turning in my head...which doesn't always translate to action. I have a lot going on, so I am motivating myself to step it up! The Public Allies Team Service Project is kicking into high gear - March and April are it!!! GBAPP is having its City Kidz Got Skillz event in late May - and I am the lead organizer. Also, the GBAPP website is getting revamped, and I am responsible for the content. I am looking for summer employment, as GBAPP has asked me to come back for a second year in the Public Allies program - woot! But, this means figuring out income for the time between June and September. Also, I have plans for opening an online store. And gardening season is arriving! Yikes!

1. In other news, yesterday was Otter the Quadrapus' first birthday. It was a wonderful excuse for Lover and I to indulge in ice cream sandwiches. 
2. I finished designing the invitation for the "Bridgeport Beautifies" kick-off! The event is for our partners and our volunteers. I am super excited!
3. I worked on revamping my resume and writing a cover letter for a potential summer job position. It's kind of agonizing.
4. I had carnivorous plant seeds germinating in the fridge for six weeks, and I finally switched them over to a pot in the windowsill. I'm not sure this is going to work, but I am willing to try.
5. I face painted at the CT NOFA Winter Conference in Manchester! What a great conference filled with workshops and superb vendors. I met a beekeeper and spent some time discussing his self-built hive and way of keeping bees. Can't wait to try it for myself!

 In lesser news, I finished reading the StrengthsFinder book assigned to us in Public Allies. It read like a large infomercial for the StrengthsFinder test, but the test results are fun, as they often are. My highlighted strengths were:

• Maximizer (someone who focuses on assets and pushes ahead even in the light of mistakes or failure), 
• Positivity (someone who encourages others and helps to keep the situation in a positive light), 
• Input (someone who researches and organizes information),
• Intellecter (a person who enjoys reading theory, philosophy, and intellectual discussions) and 
• Learner (a person who absorbs new information and enjoys learning and applying new skills). 

That pretty much sums me up when it comes to work.

How was your week?

Bombs away!

There are a lot of lots in Bridgeport that can only benefit from some added color and vegetation. The cheap and easy solution?

Seed bombs.

It's not only cheap and easy, it's fun. You can have seed bomb workshops with kids, neighbors, friends, and family. The below links will provide with you with a couple different recipes that can help you on your way.

Seed Bombs on Instructables

Seed Bombs on EcoLocalizer

Ideally, you'll have to throw these bombs down after the last frost, which in Bridgeport, CT, is projected to happen at the end of April. Also, use flower species native to New England - you can often find wildflower mixes in local garden stores.

The big day for the Public Allies Bridgeport team and their partners is April 30th. We will be cleaning up 24 targeted neighborhoods and installing gardens and unveiling murals. You can do your part by having a seed bomb workshop in your neighborhood, or making seed bombs beforehand and then spreading them on April 30th. If you're taking it up, please let us know! We'd love to see pictures, also! You can e-mail us bridgeportpact@gmail.com. Happy seeding!

Moss Graffiti

Here's a cool idea: MOSS.

How to Make Moss Graffiti! You can make it yourself and try it out!


More amazing art and graffiti with moss!  Seriously check these photos out. They'll blow your mind.

Keep it green.

Honeybee Lust

I spent part of my childhood growing up on a hobby farm - meaning we didn't keep animals for our livelihood, but for the fun of keeping them. We had sheep, goats, chickens, peacocks, and rabbits to go with our dogs, cats, and various fishbowls. One thing I always said I'd do again was keep chickens. Their manure is great for the garden once it's spent some time composting, and they lay eggs. In addition, they are great entertainment!

I have shared this with Lover on multiple occasions, more so he would be aware of how far the animal and garden enthusiast in me will go. One of his responses has been, "I'm surprised you wouldn't want to keep bees."

Bees? Really? Why on earth would someone keep bees? They sting, and when I get stung, the reaction is bigger than for most people - if they sting near a joint, I can't move it for a day. I told him this, and still, he said those words more than once.

Bees, huh? Well...I keep worms. I vermicompost. Keeping a bin of worms in my basement so I can have great compost and worm poo tea I guess goes on the list of odd hobbies. Beekeeping...also an odd hobby.

Then I read Novella Carpenter's "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer." She speaks of hives lost and swarms won. She talks about pressing her ear against the side of a hive to hear the thrumming of bees within. She talks about getting stung. My interest is piqued. She gets to the point of extracting honey and sharing it with neighbors and using her own honey to sweeten tea and other goodies. Keeping bees?

I then read up on beekeeping in Connecticut. A local-to-me beekeeper has written a book and holds workshops on keeping bees. Other people talk about using the wax to make candles, and for encaustic painting. Encaustic painting?! I have wanted to try encaustic painting for years.

I love the taste of honey. I buy local Connecticut honey. There are debates within vegetarian and vegan circles of whether this counts as an animal by-product and if using bee honey is ethical. I don't get into it. I buy local honey produced by local bees and hope the beekeepers treat the bees ethically. But if I had my own hives, I could be certain that there are no chemicals used, and that the bees have enough honey for themselves. Bees would pollinate the flowers of my gardens, and use that pollen in their hives. I could extract honey twice a year and ensure they don't get brought down by a mite infestation or some other kind of disaster (bees have been having some difficult times lately).

I am convinced. Make Magazine just came out with an issue containing a DIY beehive project. It's my project for next year, as this year is all about the new garden beds and new composting processes.

Books I am Going To Read:

The Weekly Wrap-Up - Feb 27

This should be more like a monthly wrap up, since I haven't posted in some weeks regarding the highlights but anyway, here goes in no particular order:

1.) Public Allies Mid-Year Retreat! The above shot is from a workshop regarding our personal values. These are mine. Below is a shot of some of us having a beach party, and then pretending to be fishing off of a bridge.

2.) A visit the to the Maritime Aquarium. Lover and I had a nice Sunday together and went to look at weird and funky creatures in Norwalk. The non-human ones.

3.) Valentine's Day. Lover got me a beautiful orchid (I have wanted one for years and for some reason never got it for myself, though I always had a ton of plants around!) and a gift certificate to a fancy-schmancy salon, because he heard me complaining about my hair.We ate dinner at our favorite Thai place and had our favorite dish - Pad Si Ew. Mine with tofu and his with chicken. We picked out photos of us and our adventures together to put into frames to have around the house. It'll be another fun activity to do together on another weekend.

4.) Ordering seeds and general spring anticipation. I put in my order for seeds just this morning. Everything from yukon gold potatoes to joe long cayenne peppers to english lavender. This garden is going to be the bomb! And I can't wait to spend all summer eating fresh vegetables and trying out recipes. Summer and fall I plan to try canning and freezing, sauces and salsas. Also, I planted crocus in the front yard last fall, and I have been eagerly awaiting their spring debut!

5.) Bringing in new additions to the menagerie. We welcomed Ponyo, Chihiro, San, and Valve to one freshwater tank. Chihiro didn't make it. Ponyo and San (the Glofish) are swimming about happily, and Valve (an albino pleco) likes to hide inside the tiki god in the tank. This tank has had an algae problem, so we've also introduced a Cherry shrimp named Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales. (You'll have to refer to the Muppet-Wiki article on Pepe for this reference.) New tanks can be problematic, and this one has been particularly so. The tank was too cold to begin with, so we added a heater. The algae problem has decreased with the algae-eaters (Valve and Pepe), and the pH is being maintained at 7.2. Twenty-five to fifty percent of the water is replaced every week using a gravel siphon.

We also welcomed Otter, or "Quadrapus," as we so often call her. She's a loud meow-er, super cuddly, and loves to sit on my papers when I am working and get her fur all over my fabric when I'm sewing. In other words, she is a perfectly normal and healthy cat.

6.) Sewing Project of the Month! Yesterday I realized it was nearing the close of February. I hadn't yet done a sewing project for the month, so I got out the fabric and the sewing machine and in a few hours, had sewn up a garden apron with pockets! Pictures coming soon - it's fabulous!

7.) I can has books? I finished reading "Farm City:  The Education of an Urban Farmer" by Novella Carpenter. It was fascinating! Novella lives in Oakland, CA, guerilla gardening on a lot next to her apartment building, breeding rabbits for meat on her balcony, and keeping bees, pigs, ducks, turkeys, geese, and chickens in the backyard! I can definitely appreciate the farmer who raises and slaughters their own livestock, even though I am vegetarian - I just can't stand the factory farming. I give big kudos to Novella for her lifestyle.

Books currently reading: The Best Buddhist Writing of 2006 (reading essays here and there), The Handmade Marketplace (taking notes!), and Strengths-Based Leadership (assigned reading for Public Allies)

Coming soon...apron pics, honeybee lust, and Warrior Dash training...