17 April 2010

"A Clean, Fresh Towel Every Time" ???


It's been a while since I've written a public rant, but this one has been driving me crazy since I first saw the ad.
The ad starts out with a split view of a small, white washcloth on one side, and a blue (plastic looking) box with white towels that pop out of the bottom on the other. When I first saw the blue box, I immediately was reminded of the plastic or stainless steel ones that you see in public restrooms. The commercial continues with various people wiping their hands on either the tiny washcloth or a "clean fresh towel." As time goes on, the tiny washcloth starts to yellow, and then a rather large, wet-mouthed dog grabs the tiny, now yellowish, washcloth. A small child replaces the washcloth in a wad, then an adult appears to blow his/her nose in it and replaces it on the bar. Several other people are drying their hands (fingers) on the rag, and nearly as many people are taking a disposable towel from the blue box. The female narrator announces, "Your hands are only as clean as the towel you use to dry them. So, why use the same towel over and over, instead of a clean fresh one every time?" Following the announcement, the full name of the product is advertised.

I have issues with this ad/product on SO many levels. For one, most people use a hand towel (more than twice the size of the "towel" they had on the rack in the commercial) to dry their hands. Also, most people I know don't let their towel get yellow and scummy, they WASH IT with the rest of their laundry. Oh, and unless I'm living in an alternate world, there's a bit of an economic crisis going on - people don't have as much money to spend on worthless stuff. To top it off, at least in my area, a lot of people are starting to "go green;" which certainly doesn't include disposable hand towels. Those creative folks trying to sell those polluting, wasteful, useless, disposable towels also figured out another way to show you how nasty it is to use an ACTUAL towel - when they split the screen, the side with the actual (albeit TINY) towel was off-white and put right next to the sterile, chemically-bleached, white wall with the shiny blue box.

To make matters worse, you can go to the company's website and teach your small children the "drying song."

My hands are gonna be clean
When I wash and I dry with mommy and sing
This song that's exactly two clean hands long
Warm water and soap and bubbles that shine
A Kleenex (R) Hand Towel that's mine all mine
And a song that's exactly two clean hands long
No yucky old towel's gonna ruin my day
I dry my hands the Kleenex (R) towel way
So if you're a fan of clean hands too
Roll up your sleeves and I'll sing with you.

I listen for a bit (you can go here and listen for yourself), and follow the (delayed) bouncy ball on the lyrics on the screen, and I'm fairly impressed... then line five comes in - Okay, it's advertising the product, whatever. What makes my blood boil is line seven - "No yucky old towel's gonna ruin my day," really, a HAND TOWEL has the ability to RUIN YOUR DAY? Let's get real folks. If it is that "yucky" anyway, how 'bout getting a clean one from the linen closet and tossing that "yucky" one in the hamper.

One final thought; if you're using your actual hand towel (as opposed to this new, disposable hand towel) to dry your hands exclusively, shouldn't it STAY clean, since you're ACTUALLY CLEANING your hands before you touch it? Now, that person in the commerical that put the towel up to his/her nose/face, that's not what hand towels are for - use a hanky or "facial tissue."

Check the ad out on youtube.

Am I just an overzealous eco-freak, or did this particular company miss the mark this time 'round?

14 April 2010

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 6


1. Plant something – Waiting for last weeks' plantings to come up... which I think are coming up today (that crackin' ground look)... then I'll plant more...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing,continued to take cuttings of herbs, lettuce....

3. Preserve something – does it count if I freeze 1/2 the cookie dough, or is that want not?

4. Waste Not– not doin' so well this week...

5. Want Not – my 4th NiCe clothes rack - now I can put up 2 or 3 loads at once,inside! Found it at a swap meet, along with some storage jars and other bits...

6. Build Community Food Systems – Continued patronizing local creamery/dairy... Sprouts are finally up for friends, anyone in the area need some onion sets... I have a few, um, extra....... (who will need garlic in the fall, 'cause I might just have some extra then too... hehe)

7. Eat the Food – last fall's garlic sauteed in Golden Glen butter (well, my butter, from their heavy cream) then frozen peppers and peas from last year... add in cooked pasta (from pantry) and a dollop of heavy cream and some herbs... mmm kinda addicting. Not nearly as good w/olive oil and soy milk. :-/



06 April 2010

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 5... trying to get back on track

1. Plant something – Carrots, beets, rutabagas, radishes, peas, herbs, herbs, herbs.

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs. AND (!) my first lettuce harvest this year!!!

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right...

5. Want Not – Um, refer to last post?

6. Build Community Food Systems – Not much.

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?! Oh, and ate leftovers, stuff from the freezer...

03 April 2010

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 4... a bit late

A few days late... but I've been sick... that's not against the rules, right?

1. Plant something – Transplanted like crazy: peppers (3 types), tomatoes (2 types), basil, squash/melons (2 types), onions, um, well, it felt like transplanting craziness...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction. Froze leftovers a couple of times...

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... Took a bunch of the jersey knit cotton (e.g. tee-shirt) scraps from the scrap/small pieces bin and turned them into hankies in just enough time... ugh....

5. Want Not – Decided to buy bulk used towels for messy projects - mainly dog-related. Found a bag that had the right color sticker - 7 rag towels for $2.50 plus tax, and frankly, two of those towels are in better condition that some of our shower towels... Made a concentrated effort to eat leftovers EVERY DAY for most of the week (until the sickness came over). Went a little wild with the 50% off organic lite coconut milk sale... what can I say, we love curry.

6. Build Community Food Systems – Continued working with hubby to come up with ways to convince in-laws to allow chickens at their place... We have a corner lot, they have an acre. We have a ferocious dog, they have a docile cat. We're in city limits, they're county... For now, we continue buying and bartering for truly free-range eggs from a co-worker of B's that are NUMMY!

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?! Oh, and ate leftovers, stuff from the freezer,

23 March 2010

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 3

1. Plant something – I was gone for four and a half days, and just didn't get this far...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction. Froze some basil... we'll see how it turns out.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... organized sewing scraps into categories - for stuffing only, smaller than a piece of paper, less than a yard, and started projects. I've been purposing to go to craigslist, freecycle, and thrift stores before thinking, I could go to store XYZ to get ABC item.

5. Want Not – more organizing sewing stuff - keeps me from over-buying things, and gives me the ability to fix things instead of buying new(ish).

6. Build Community Food Systems – ...

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?!

22 March 2010

A Must Read...

All I have to say is EWW....

Read this.

15 March 2010

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 2

1. Plant something – Peanuts, onion sets, acorn squash, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs. Learned that kale that's bolted tastes AWFUL!

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... we cleaned out the fridge and tossed a lot that seems to get lost... I think if I ever have the chance to design a fridge, it'll be much more shallow, maybe a deep spot in the bottom for big dishes, but mainly shallow - so everything can be seen and accessed easily...

5. Want Not – organizing sewing stuff - keeps me from over-buying things, and gives me the ability to fix things instead of buying new(ish).

6. Build Community Food Systems – Started acorn squash in greenhouse for someone.

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?!

06 March 2010

Independence Days, Year 3... A.K.A. Erika Tries the Blogging Commitment Thing!

I'm gonna cheat... Starting off on the wrong foot... I know... but I'm just going to start where I am now, seeing as I haven't mastered the year-round thing yet.

1. Plant something – Lettuce (leaf and romaine), cucumbers, 2 kinds of squash, 2 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers (I think... maybe just one), celery, celeriac, cilantro (it will never make it to seed 'round here for coriander... we'll be lucky to save seed this year!), Egyptian walking onions (purchased as starts), and aloe.

2. Harvest something - Made Mung Bean sprouts... does that count? Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Realized it's time to plant last year's potatoes, we've eaten all the ones that haven't sprouted. We started buying food less often, planning meals, and prepping food in bigger chunks - avoiding our biggest pitfall - going out 'cause it'll take too long to cook. Roasted garlic that was starting to sprout.

5. Want Not – Brought in a truckload of soil for my herb/kitchen garden, hubby built a fence to keep Jessi-Lou out of said garden, hubby built a cold-frame out of scrap wood and an old window we got from freecycle... and hinges from the re-store, I'm sure there's more...

6. Build Community Food Systems – I'm always talking with folks about local food... haven't done much more, other than make some connections for future bartering...

7. Eat the Food – Roasted garlic, freezer meals, etc. Made some NUMMY garlic with home grown herbs and garlic with flour grown and milled in-state... I really need to work on a good fluffy bread recipe... mine are always crunchier than crunchy on the outside, and not very fluffy...



13 December 2009

Facebook, Cars, and SNOW!!!!

Facebook:
So, you can tell when I jumped on the facebook wagon... it's kinda addicting... ugh. I'd love to be a bit more verbose than the "status updates" allow, so we'll see what happens.

Cars:
Within 12 hours, BOTH of the headlights on my car went out, the drivers' side windshield wiper cracked and leaves a streak, and the weather changed to the point where I needed to put my studs on.

Snow:
WOOHOO! I'm so excited to see snow again! I hope it's not like last year, but it'll be nice to wake up to a winter wonderland!

--Erika

07 September 2009

End of Summer Stew

Ingredients:
2 small-medium coarsely chopped onions
4 cloves coarsely chopped garlic
2 or 3 handfuls coarsely chopped carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli
9-12 smallish tomatoes, quartered (or halved if too small)
12-16 small potatoes, quartered or equivalent larger potatoes in bite-size pieces (I don't peel my potatoes)
4 tomatillos, quartered
fresh herbs: basil, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary (all rubbed and chopped)
salt and pepper
olive oil
chicken (or meat of your choice... for those carnivores) butterfly cut/very thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Splash olive oil in dutch oven, place in oven and heat to 375.
2. Saute olives and garlic (until onions are clear) in olive oil in a large skillet.
3. Add tomatoes and tomatillos to onions and garlic, saute for a bit.
4. Add carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes, saute a bit more.
5. Transfer goodies in skillet to dutch oven, cover, and return to oven.
6. Turn skillet down to medium, toss in some more olive oil. When oil is hot, add a dash of herbs under each piece of chicken, dash on top as well.
7. Careful not to overcook, as meat should be very thinly sliced.
8. Remove veggies from oven when potatoes are tender to fork.
9. Plate veggies, fan thin slices of meat on top with garnish of nasturtium or fresh herbs, ladle stewed tomato (from dutch oven) lightly over each serving.

Sorry no pictures... it was too good to wait!

--Erika

26 July 2009

Saturday

B, my aunt K, and I went for a drive (and to check out antique shops). Along the way we got lost (surprised?), and ended up on this LONG, straight, dead-end road that had signs that said "burial" on either side every few yards - between the palm trees - and when we looked carefully, we could see the mongooses at the bases of the trees.

I commented to my step-sister, K, that only tourists take pictures of common house pests...


The kids spend most of the day in the pool. At the beginning of the week the twins, J and K, wouldn't go near it. Now they're begging their cousin, E, to swim with them.

Saturday

I didn't get a chance to post pictures last night, as my step-dad and I were in the ER with my mom. She's having another one of her "episodes," probably some bug she picked up in Mexico... a year ago... that they haven't found yet; I liked the doc she had - he actually listened to her and didn't JUST snow her with drugs (don't let that fool you - he did snow her with drugs, but he actually tried to fix the problem!). Anyway... she's sleeping now... not sure how she's doing, no one wants to disturb her to ask, step-dad just keeps the meds flowing...

24 July 2009

Friday

Friday started with a trip to the farmer's market



Then we went to see the first church built in Hawaii, where Joe set off the car alarm... while illegally parked.... and couldn't get it turned off...


While we were at the farmer's market, my mom had a barefoot massage by an eighty-three year-old man...



More of the farmer's market offerings... all from the Big Island...

Thursday

Only tourists snap pictures of hibiscus flowers at the Starbucks Drive Thru...


I met these two cute hogs... from a distance... they grunted at me and then ran off...

Between these and Donkey Crossing signs, there's quite a few critters crossing the road... Maybe we should stop them and ask them why they're crossing....



B checking out the neighborhood produce stand: bananas, pineapple, limes, guava, papaya, mango, etc. Yeah... that's a mild sunburn you see on his shoulder...

23 July 2009

Round and Round we go...

We stopped at the Punalu'u Bake Shop - the southernmost bakery in the US. The guava bread is FANTASTIC!

My Grandma at the Black Sand Beach


The black sand in Brian's hand - it's much more coarse than regular sand - created by hot lava hitting the cold sea water and shattering.

Notice the contrast between the stark lava field and the green hills beyond.

Our trip to the volcano was, um, interesting. Between the sign below, and the rain...

Brian got out of the car and turned for a picture - less than 30 seconds - look how wet he got!
This is the visitor center at the volcano - and the waterfall coming off the roof
Just for my father-in-law....

21 July 2009

More Pictures from Hawaii...

Open the picture below - the tree on the left is guava, the middle is avocado, and the right is mango...

Wild chickens in a parking lot...
Just for my mother-in-law....

The view from a scenic point overlooking miles of interconnected lava tubes...

Coffee

Today, we went to Kona Joe's Coffee. The owner acquired and began the farm in 1995, and began with a unique technique to growing coffee - he uses trellises, just like in vineyards. He has patented his trellises, but his coffee trees produce approximately 33% more coffee per tree each year, and the coffee cherries get more sun, and ripen so much better than traditional growing techniques. The following picture is from the roasting plant, looking over a field of trellised coffee trees.


Coffee trees less than a month from the beginning of harvest season

Nearly ripe coffee cherries
Another view of Kona Joe's Coffee trees
More to come...

--Erika

More Pictures from the House...

Plumeria



Palm Date Tree

Bird of Paradise
Bird of Paradise and Palm

Aloha!

This morning's photos are of the house we are staying at, mainly the front grounds and the fauna. There are quite a few wild animals that come to the house; we've had cats, "cardinal" birds, chickens, cockroaches, dragonflies, all manner of bugs, and, of course, geckos. There are reports that wild turkeys will come in the house if you leave the screens (see first two pictures below) open. Click on any of the pictures to have them shown full size. The following photo was taken from the plantation style front porch, looking toward the ocean (the blue behind the foliage toward the middle of the picture... behind the pool).

The following is a picture of the entrance to the house. Next, a view from the living room, looking through the screens to the porch - you can see the columns at the edge of the porch.

Pineapple, anyone?

More later... either this evening or tomorrow morning...

--Erika