Rob goes back to class!

I went to my email today and I found this class offered in my Burien parks and rec newsletter-

Simple Methods for Preserving Fresh Fruits & Veggies
Start thinking now about preserving food for winter! Consider options for food preservation so you can plan your garden for year-round eating. Come learn some safe, simple techniques for saving the flavors of summer to enjoy in the dark season of root vegetables! This class focuses on jam and jelly making, fruit canning and dehydrating fruits and vegetables. Preserving your own food saves money and provides delicious, satisfying tastes to bring back memories of summer bounty.

You know I signed up. It still cracks me up that local govenrnment has to do things like this class, things they don't teach in high school! They should have been teaching Food preservation in Junior high let alone High School. And food production. Four H wasn't even offered in my "urban" high school. Maybe that would have smartened some of the future citizens of America if they had a program in all schools that would teach these things. But I am dreaming. Hell- they can't even fund a music program in some districts, let alone an agriculture or earth conservation program. Makes me want to make up a big ol' shit burger!

Maybe our candidates can eat that!

And if any Seattle area bloggers want to join me in the class, it costs $5, and registration is online or call (206) 988-3700 it is class #9447, on Wednesday, August 13 at the Burien Community Center, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm The community center is like 2 blocks from the metro transit center in Burien!

Guilt by shopping bag association

Wow-local folks are upset with the new Seattle Charge for plastic Shopping bags! And it doesnt even affect the city of Burien! I went shopping today and was verbally abused by a couple of old farts sitting in a used Merc yelling "there goes another one of those goddamn tree huggers!" While being called "Tree hugger" has never upset me in the past, I couldn't for life of me figure out why I was being singled out now? Then it dawned on me...I was carrying my shopping bag! Not being one to miss an argument, I turned around and marched up to the two older gents vehicle and in my most threatening, loudest voice said..."That's right, we took over Seattle and this city is next. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile! There is no escape from the collective."

You never saw two senior citizens get out of a parking lot so fast in your life.

Some days are worth getting up for!

POST # 150-What I learn from Challenges: (Or No, I am not insane!)

Wow! Post number 150. Fanfare! Somebody toot a horn. This should be the mutha of all posts! Afraid to disappoint. I am simply going to write about challenges. Yup these *&%$# blogger challenges.
I like to participate in a myriad of challenges. I like to think I learn something from all of them. When I thought about writing a post on challenges, I first thought “Hmmm… Maybe I could write about the females who put these on, you know gals that sit there and eat cold porridge for dinner and bug with us fun folks.” But then I would be doing them a disservice (although it is truly fun to picture Crunchy or Chile sitting there like that wringing their bony hands wondering what they will do to us this month!)
Then I thought the idea is to promote these challenges as a tool of self learning and self realization, why not write what you have learned? So that is what I will do.
In Crunchy’s Don’t Buy Nutthing challenge- I learned that I am basically a consumerist. When I can’t find something- I go out and buy a new one. When something breaks or I cant find something, my first reaction is automatically go out and buy a new one. Or rather it used to. Now I ask myself if I need it, what good will it do, and have I lived without it? Usually the answer is NO. Then, hopefully, I don’t purchase whatever it was!
Then I went onto Chile’s Cut the crap challenge. The idea behind that one was to organize your spaces. I am no where near where I should be on this. Take a look at my garage and you would say a pack rat lives here. But I am better at it. And this is a good thing as it goes in tally with Crunchy’s don’t buy nutthing challenge. If you can’t find something- you want to buy a new one! If my tools are all neat and organized I don’t want a new tool! If my tool shed is nice and organized I don’t need another shovel to replace the one I can’t find!
Then we move on to Chile’s Addiction in a Peak Oil World challenge where the idea is to give up something that you seem to be addicted to. I gave up eating in restaurants, and that included fast food, and take out. And let me tell you this was a hard one. Like most single guys, I enjoy take out and fast food something awful. And while I joke that this challenge put a bunch of restaurateurs out of business, that ain’t so far from the truth. And a really hard part of this one was no coffee at the "bigbucks" espresso shop. How could I go in there order a coffee and just look at the pastry? Even if I bring my own trusty old steel cup?
That was a tough month. And while now I don’t eat out every lunch, and I now eat take out very rarely, I found out I like to take my lunch to work! I like filling my little jars with food I made myself. And yes… I will admit it- I like to cook! I like to bake pie! And desserts! I have turned into a regular Martha Stewart in the kitchen! Okay I look like and use as much butter as Paula Dean, but you get the picture.
Then came phase two of Chile’s Addiction in a Peak Oil World challenge- giving up diet soda. This was not a difficult thing for me to give up. Diet Soda is expensive, and I waste so much gas trying to find ones I like. I can’t drink regular due to my diabetes. I’d rather have a cup of healthy coffee! I know – I am kidding. I would rather have a gallon of healthy coffee!
Now we hit the big one! SHARON’S INDEPENDENCE DAYS CHALLENGE! The idea on this one is to Plant something, harvest something, preserve something, prep something, cook something new, manage your reserves and work on local food systems, of course compost, repair, re-use, reduce, recycle something and do all this each week! My first thought was- is she kidding? But after doing it for a month or two you would be amazed how easy it gets. And what better way to learn to be more self sustaining? I have fallen back in love with gardening, and it is fun to eat something and know you grew it! And putting up jam and pickles and such is good because you are extending your growing season. AND this year I have been jamming. I have even proclaimed myself "Rob...The KING of the jam!" And I even learned to make my own beef jerky!
And I signed up with Crunchy Domestic Goddess' 5 minute shower challenge. I already do this but I like to learn more about what the outcome is. 1- I save money. My water bill is about at the minimum for my water district. 2- At Bean Sprouts’ suggestion I plugged my drain and found out what my water usage is showering- 10-15 gallons per shower. And it made me check out my shower heads flow. (3.5 gpm). These things are all important!
Sure there have been fun ones like Crunchy’s Golden Shower Party. Imagine getting a bunch of folks to pee on their gardens! Again more money saved- Every flush is 3-5 gallons or in my case 1.8 gpf- no flush is no flush, add into that the numbers of time I urinate in a day, (due to medication) and you save somewhere around 18 gallons a day, plus your bodily fluids are full of nitrogen and other things good for your soil – no need to go out and buy Miracle Grow or some other chemically induced fertilizer. Just water down the urine (10-1 ratio) and there you are!
And recently I joined Melinda’s growing challenge. She is a local (Seattle) blogger, her and her husband just moved back to Seattle. She is into community. She is into local eating. She wants folks to grow new and different things. Smart girl. People will try new and different produce, fruits and vegetables. And know where it came from. You gotta love her style!
So in short I want to thank Crunchers, Chile, Crunchy Domestic Goddess, and Melinda- you ladies have shown me a new way to live. A more self sustaining, greener lifestyle. One that saves money, is healthier for me and the enviorment, and toughens me up.

Broccoli and other veggies I have never grown

I hang my head in shame. My name is Rob and I have never tried to grow broccoli! I like broccoli, never had a problem eating it. But have never grown my own. But today at the nursery (Home Depot- the nursery!- who am I kidding) I walked by the rapidly diminishing seed rack (IT is late July) and spied the pack of Broccoli "De Cicco' Seeds. I know they can be planted for fall. I need to add veggies for a fall crop. So in the spirit of Melinda's growing challenge, I bought a pack of broccoli seeds. Hopefully it won't be as boring as watching the Borage grow. My garden needs some excitement! Maybe I should get the puppy from next door to say hullo to Sammy Cat! That would at least be entertaining if not exciting!

Sammy has the need to show all dogs he is "SAMMY, KING AND RULER OF CANINES AND OTHER LESSER SPECIES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD". And he likes to get that point out at first meeting. Anyway, tomorrow I shall plant broccoli. And it will be good!

Good thing they didn't have kale seeds!

Saving the damn sofa

Ok, I admit to being spendy at times. Like furniture. Seems like I buy an inordinate amount of furniture. What with three dogs, two cats (well, one cat now) an occasional bunny, my furniture gets a pretty good work out. Probably why I pick Ikea so often. I have bought expensive name brand before - it didn't last any longer than the Ikea so I figure why spend so much more money?
Well, my couch broke. Those damn Ikean Swedes, who use only reclaimable wood, joined together two pieces to make a 1 X 4 (or the Swedish equivalent) and the damn thing busted. I found another frame, for $35 on Craig's list but I don't think the seller really wanted to sell it. At least she didn't want to spend as much time talking about the couch as she did the collection of light house memrobilia. Now I am not one to dis a nice light house collection but I wanted the couch. So, anyway, I started looking at the sofa and trying to figure out what to do with the frame, (reuse, reuse) and then I came up with a plan.I fixed the damn couch. I got a 1 X 6, 72 inches long and a 1X4 same length, glued the wood on the frame back together and clamped it, then proceeded to install the 1 X 6 to . the front of broken wood, and the 1 X 4 to the back of it. Worked like a charm! Cost- $9 for the lumber. This was less than buying a frame used- or a new Lillberg couch ($299). So maybe we need to ad another "R" to Re-use, Re-Duce and Re-cycle- maybe it should be Re-pair, Re-use, Re-Duce and Re-cycle. I know that is just a basic repeat of re-use, but in this case It kept a bunch of wood out of the wastestream. Now on to repairing my work jacket!

DELL FOR SALE!

As seen on craigs list
Brand new in box, paid $789, asking $500
Inspiron 530s,Intel Core2 Duo processor E4600(2.4GHz 800FSB) w/Dual Core Technologyand 2MB cache 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz ; Dell USB Keyboard; Dell Optical USB Mouse; Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100; 500GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive(7200RPM) Windows XP

Email rob at robj98168@yahoo.com if interested

Challenge Check In

Sharon's Independance Days challenge-
Prep something: Labeled all the jam I have made, put it up in the pantry
Harvest something: Some radishes, dandelion greens
Manage something: Cleaning off shelving in garage for storage; Put up some apricot jam before apricots went bad.
Cook something new: Apricot Jam; 3 berry pie (Blackberry-Raspberry-Blueberry Pie)Work on Local Food Systems: the usual shopping at the farmers market.
Compost, re-use,reduce or recycle something: The usual- food scraps to the worms,compost;recycling bin, donated a bag of clothing to salvation army; put computer I bought from Dell up for sale, Sewed some buttons on shirts for work. Repaired old jacket!
Learn a skill: No learning here this week!

Chile's Peak Oil Addiction Challenge- Still no pop. Drinking Mojitos!
Non-Alcholic Mojito
Juice of 3 limes. Save four slices of lime to decorate with.
3 Tbs of fresh mint leaves and more to decorate
Dark sugar or artificial sweeter (I use brown sugar twin)
About 24 ounces of diet or regular sprite or soda water
Ice
Mix the lime juice with water and sugar.
Press or muddle the mint leaves to extract a little bit of their juice (essential oil) and mix it. If you want extra mint flavor, you may add mint extract or if you are familiar with cooking with essential oils you may add a few drops of mint essential oil. Put all in a shaker with ice to chill. Shake. Serve with ice and decorate with the mint leaves. Turn this into a regular mojito simply by adding a shot of light rum!

Crunchy Green Goddess's Shower Challenge Still 5 minutes or less per shower- still catching the warm up water in bucket! Did this this week even though I am still angry about finding out that Catching water in a rain barrel may be illegal in Washington state LOL I save my water in protest!

Crunchy Chicken's keep yer cool challenge- Still sweating more than a chicken being chased by Col. Sanders

Melinda's Growing Challenge My borage is up! not real big, but up! Hot Damn!

Famous qoutes for $50 alex

I love Dorothy Parker - I think she and I would have been good friends!

"You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think"

"I require only three things of a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid."

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

"It serves me right for keeping all my eggs in one bastard."

"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common."

"That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can't say No in any of them."

"Brevity is the soul of lingerie."

Another trip in the garden

Thought I would take a new trip in the garden, giving you guys an updated look of parts of my garden plants and dogs
Swiss chard, rainbow carrots

My water feature, a pennywort growing there

Spike- my garden dog(he loves to be with me when I am puttering in the garden)

Squashbox before, July 4th

A better look at the squashbox with radish; After, July 25th

Elderberry bush, feverfew and tarragon towards the front

Peas getting a start on the northside of the house

Old Binky- no teeth, but a lot of bite

Basil from my seedballz

Here is my Borage!!!

All you ever wanted to know about Borage....

Photo: Wikipedia

but were afraid to ask. Well Melinda wasn't so here goes-
A bit more about borage- here is what I found out about borage from wikipedia:
The leaves have been found to contain small amounts (10 ppm of dried herb) of the liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids: intermedine, lycopsamine, amabiline and supinine. They taste like fresh cucumber and are used in salads and soups especially in Germany.
The flower, which contains the non-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid thesinine, has a sweet honey-like taste and, being one of the few truly blue-colored edible things, is often used to decorate desserts and dishes.
Tea made from the dried flowers is a traditional calming drink in Iran. It has a rich purple color that turns bright pink by adding a few drops of lemon juice.
Interest in borage remains high because it is the highest known plant based source of gamma-linolenic acid (18:3, cis 6,9,12-octadecatrienoic acid). The seed oil is often marketed as "starflower oil" or "borage oil."

I first got interested in borage from Sharon’s blog, I think. Maybe another blog. Anyway, One of her (whoever owns the blog I read) sons likes borage because it tastes like cucumber to him. Tastes like cucumber? That's all it takes to make want some, I needed to find out more.
USES:
Tea
Decorate desserts
German Green Sauce: There are two traditional types of Hessian Green Sauce which are popular in the Frankfurt am Main and Kassel area. The Frankfurt-style is made from hard-boiled eggs, oil (but not olive oil), vinegar, salt, and generous amount of seven fresh herbs, namely borage, sorrel, cress, chervil, chives, parsley, and salad burnet. Variants, often due to seasonal availability include dill, lovage, lemon balm and even spinach or basil. In more frugal times, daisy leaves, broad plantain leaves, and dandelion leaves were also used. Since the sauce is mainly an emulsion of fat and egg yolk, it may be classified as a kind of mayonnaise (although common mayonnaise uses raw yolks.)

GROWING BORAGE:
This distinctive annual has branching stems that grow from a single tap root to about 40cm(15.75 inches) tall. The gray-green leaves are 8-12cm(3.5 - 4.72 inches) long and, like the stems, are covered with bristly hairs. Borage produces beautiful star shaped, peacock blue flowers that nod downward in leafy clusters at the tips of stems. Plants are best used where they can be seen close up: in border plantings and in containers, for example. They take up a lot of room in the garden and don't transplant well, so space plants a generous distance apart.

A QUICK TRIP AROUND THE GARDEN

Let's take a quick trip around the yard to see what's growing (I took these pics about 4th of July, everything is so much bigger now!)
This is one my huckleberry bushes.

My new dog! He shits bolts! Actually a piece of recycled art I bought for the yard, (yes I am a devotee of yard art.)

Jalepeno is getting hot

Cukes and zuchinni, with radishes thrown in!

Zuchinni is getting nice!

A nice tomato awaiting ripening.

OOOOOOOOOOH Another Challenge!

OOOOOOOOOOh Boy another challenge! This one by the fabulous Melinda- this one is A growing challenge- You are supposed to grow one new thing from seed- And I chose my borage! yes that weed (in other peoples yards) that I actually purchased seeds for! I planted it amongst my pumpkin and also my huckleberry plants. Will post a picture in a couple of days as it has been so slow to sprout up and grow.

NW SUSTAINABLE BLOGGERS MEET 'N GREET

Ever wondered what Crunch E. Chicken sounds like? Does she cluck alot? Or is Melinda as nice and sweet in person as she is on her blog? Or is Robj98168 as handsome and virile as his picture? Now's your chance! Melinda and The Crunchster have melded their fantastical minds together and come up with a meet 'n greet. Tentatively set for August 24th, time and place to be announced. Just mosey (yes, I said mosey) on over to Melinda's blog or The Crunchy one's and let them know if you are interested!

WTF? Water Thiefs?

Stop! Thief! You have the right to remain silent, anything found in your rain barrel will be used as evidence that you are a water thief!

According to an article in todays Seattle PI, there is an archaic law in the state of Washington, Making it illegal to catch water from the rains, as in rain barrels. What the hell - are they afraid it well never rain again in Washington state?

Should government have the right to say NO! YOU CAN'T SAVE WATER! or is it a case of government protecting us from ourselves? What the hell do I take 5 minute showers for? Why the hell do I catch water heating up for my shower in a bucket or recycle dishwater for plant watering?

Also, does big brother have the right to say the own the water from the rains and you don't? Does that make them responsible for leaky roofs and flood damage? I know the state law rules that they own the water in the lakes and rivers, but is this a case of a state going too far? Can people in eastern Washington be "trusted" not to take too much water?

Personally I am ready to be a scofflaw and a rebel with a cause and proudly catch my water in my two rain barrels in the front of the house. I smell a poll!

The Next big Think!

The TH!NK electric automobile will be coming to the USA! According to this article by Dan Neil in the LA Times and this article by the LA TImes Ken Bensinger says that TH!NK Global plans on having the cars available in the US by the end of 2009!

I guess Ford at one time owned them, but gave them up.

And folks wonder why Detroit is in trouble!

a little reuse for ya

I pretty much live on my scooter during the warm weather, opting for my MGB, (yes the sexy car behind the scooter) on longer trips. Anyway I decided I needed a basket. It's not easy driving while keeping groceries wedged between your thighs. And I didn't want the typical "milkcrate".

So i checked the prices for baskets and trunks and decided I didn't need one that bad. Then I came across this basket in my garage

So I went to the workbench and made a system to mount it on my rack and Voila! A neat basket that isn't a milk crate! Cost- Basket, which someone gifted me, $0.00, mounting hardware, all parts that I had around the garage- negligible, labor- myself- free- $0.00! Total cost-FREE!! And you can't beat that price!

Challenges Update

Sharon's Independance Day's Challenge:
Plant something: Planted a feverfew plant; a texas terragon,some strawberry plants bought on close out at Home Depot; Transplanted a tomato plant bought at lowes in my
topsy turvy tomato planter
Prep something: Made 5 jars of Loganberry, made 5 jars of strawberry jam
Harvest something: Radishes.
Manage something: Got canning supplies together.
Cook something new: Loganberry Jam. A loganberry/blackberry pie

Work on Local Food Systems: Went shopping at Farmers Market. Posted a small directory on local foods on my blog and website!
Compost, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle something: Put old computer on freecycle. Made a basket for honda motorscooter, now I can take it to the store!
Learn a skill: Learned how to make Jam, Learned how to make a potato condo. Will make one next season.

Chile's Peak Oil Addiction Challenge- No pop. A lot of Ice Tea.

Crunchy Green Goddess's Shower Challenge Still 5 minutes or less per shower- still catching the warm up water in bucket! This week did an interesting experiment suggested by bean sprout, I put the plug in the drain to see how much water I am using showering- and I found out my usage is approx. 10-15 gallons per shower!

crunchychicken's keep-yer-cool-challenge- Still sweating more than President Bush at an IQ test.

GREENBOOK WINNER

And the winner is(fanfare)

BOURBANMOM!

Bourbanmom, send me your mailing info to robj98168@yahoo.com and I will get it in the mail pronto!

JAM PORN

As I lay in the bed, I took the drop of sweet sticky warm jam that lay suggestively on my finger up to my lips...touched my toungue with my finger and...

THE REST OF THIS STORY IS CENSORED!

I learned how to make Loganberry Jam last night. And I found the instructions on how to make a potato condo. Combine the two, and you have a potato jam!

I first saw the potato condo on THE SHIBA GUYZ blog. But no instructions. SO I googled around and found how to make a potato condo! The Jam- I bought half a flat of loganberries at the farmers market yesterday, and thought - now what? After a good couple of hours of googling loganberries, I decided- Pie or Jam- Pie I know, is easy and can be frozen. But I gathered my guts, (and spatulas, canning jars, what have you) and decided to make some jam. Don't know if it set but if it didn't it is supposedly good for pancakes or waffles and as a milk shake ingredient.

UPDATE- My Jam set! I am Rob, King of The Jam! Woohoo! Bring on the cukes! Pickles next!

In defense of the Grocery Outlet!

Here I go again, promoting a commercial store. Chile's blog right now has a series on food security. It is a very interesting topic. How do you afford to buy food? One answer I have is the Grocery outlet. It is a rousing discussion at work.

Seriously I don't know what folks have against the Grocery Outlet- or as FPF's husband, terrible person calls it the Used Food Store. Okay - so do I -can't resist a good store name - thanks michael.
I also call it a green store. And a lot of my friends think I have lost my tree-huggin' mind.

But when you think about it- their items generally are simply items that some CEO or some "mainstream" grocer has decided wasn't good enough to sell.

The reasons are varied- a label change on a product, a store closes and has excess amounts. But I call it a green store because they sell what normally would have been thrown away! They purchase the items at pennies on the dollar, and pass the savings on!

I personally like that, because I am getting good merchandise, and keeping waste out of the waste stream. I am not saying you are buying garbage there or their food is garbage. But why throw away a perfectly good can of tomatoes because you changed the label? Grocery outlet and stores like them are just opening an affordable shopping experience for people.

My mom used to have qualms buying clothes from thrift stores. And she used to tell me I didn't know who wore them before I bought them. And to which I would just look at her and reply What does that matter- I wash it once and it is clean. A person could argue with that whole outlook that you don't know who made the clothes either. Well my mom, while not a thrift store aficionado, will buy something used today.

And mom while not a Grocery Outlet fan, will go in there to buy items like canned tomatoes.

They also sell fresh items like meats, cheeses, produce. I have never bought produce there but have bought meat and cheese there. And it was all good. And tasty.

God Bless the Norwegians

And not just because I am 100% Norwegian origin.

First, they are coming out with the Think! Electric Automobile, my new favorite car, and now in Trondheim,Norway, they have invented the worlds first Bicycle Lift (The Trampe) which actually has become one of Trondheims most popular tourist attractions and has become a success.

The bicycle lift carries cyclists uphill. Inspired by the ski lift technology, the cyclists could be pushed uphill without having to get off of the bicycle. Taking into account the topography of Trondheim, it is no surprise that the idea of a bicycle lift was conceived here.

Talk about conquering hills! If we had that here in Seattle there would be no excuse for me not getting on a bike!

Trondheim is an environmental friendly city that promotes cycling. It has a public bike project were you can rent bikes. 18% of the population of Trondheim is using their bike as a daily means if transport to work or school. Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel by 2015.

And looking the trampe official website it looks like folks have learned to adapt it to other forms of transport also!

COMMUNITY

"Olde Burien"

Here is a small and by no means inclusive directory of Burien if you are looking for sustainble bussinesses in the area! Please remember that Burien has all the big names- Fred Meyer, Safeway, Chevrolet, etc. THese are just a few businesses that go above and beyond the norm.

Mini Directory of sustainable Burien

RESTAURANTS:
Australian Pie Company- Delicious home made aussie meat pies. They don’t mill their own flour but they make everything on site. Try a sausage roll and a cup of coffee- heaven. Packaging- they pack your meat pies in white sandwich bags- totally compostable! The larger pies may come in standard pie tins, but those are reusable. A+
www.australianpieco.com/
425 SW 152nd, Burien


Elliot bay Brewing Company- All their burgers are organic Black Angus beef raised on Vashon Island. Spent grain from the brewing process is used to make their burger buns.They serve Tony's organic Fair Trade coffee. And beer. They make their own beer! And you can take the beer home in a handy glass jug that holds about a half a gallon.
www.elliottbaybrewing.com/
255 SW 152nd

WINERIES
EB Foote Winery - The winery is open for free wine tasting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 pm to 9 pm, on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. Both white and red wines may be available for tasting and purchase in the winery gift shop. These award-winning wines may include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, red blends, and Sweet Sherrill, which is a Riesling equivalent.
www.ebfootewinery.com/
127-B SW 153rd Street,

BAKERIES:
The Danish Bakery- specializes in carefully baked Scandinavian products including Danish pastry, pumpernickel, take and bake pizza dough and various other breads, cookies, and decorated cakes.They serve coffee, espresso drinks, and cold beverages in their small cafe. They also have a fine assortment of hard to find imported Scandinavian goods such as imported jams, cheeses, chocolates, lefse, etc. Don’t mill their own flour but everything baked is made on site. Except the lefse- but it is produced locally.
http://www.danishbakery.com/
825 SW 152nd


SUPPLIES:
Grassroots Home and Garden- Grassroots is the biggest small nursery in Seattle. Really great little nursery tucked in between the other businesses in Olde Burien.
http://www.grassrootsburien.com/
913 SW 152nd

The Grainery- Beans, Bosch Mixers, Bulk Foods, Cosmetics, Dried Fruits, Dried Fruits, Dry Milk, Food Dehydrators, Grain Mills, Juice Extractions. Pretty neat little store!
http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_drnq4w
13629 1st Ave S

KIRKS FEED AND SEED- Old fashioned feed store, still sells chicks in the store. Also sells Dog food, and most farm animal food!
908 SW 152nd
http://www.insiderpages.com/b/12382975094

TRANSPORTATION
BICYCLES WEST- Serving the greater Burien area with quality Bikes, Bike repairs and accessories since 1948
804 SW 151st St
bicycleswest.com

PET FOOD
THE NATURAL PET PANTRY: Sells natural raw and cooked pet foods.
http://www.naturalpetpantry.com/
830 SW 152nd

MUD BAY GRAINERY: sells natural pet foods and pet supplies
148 SW 148th
http://www.mudbay.us/Store_Locations/Burien.htm

FARMER'S MARKET
Burien Farmer’s Market- May through October, this year locates at SW 152nd and 10th ave SW The Burien Farmer's Market is for farmers, growers or producers from Western Washington who sell their own produce in person, direct to the public. All products sold are grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the Vendor.
http://discoverburien.com/Farmers%20Market.htm

THRIFT(SECOND HAND) AND CONSIGNMENT STORES Excellent choices for vintage clothing, Or for household goods with a soft touch on packaging!
Goodwill, 1031 Sw 128th St
St. Vincent De Paul, 13445 1st Ave S
Value Village, 131 SW 157th St
Lollipops- Consignment shop; maternity and baby items, 2038 S.W. 152nd St. S.W.,
Salvation Army 16033 1st Ave S

COMMUNITY ACTIVISM GROUPS:
Sustainable Burien- Local group whose efforts are to promote sustainable lifestyle in The Burien area, is a member of Sustainable Communities ALL over Puget Sound (SCALLOPS)
http://www.sustainableburien.org/
SCALLOPS

The BUSH Presidency - in pictures

see Obama pictures



see Obama pictures



see Obama pictures



see Obama pictures

Now I shall pay!

see more dog pictures

The little electrical problem in my bedroom has put me at a quandary- I have to clean up the bedroom before calling an electrician. That means all the clothes that squiggled their way under the bed, the books on my bookshelf, and *GASP!* the bathroom. No not the bathroom. That is, if I can't find the problem myself. And believe me I am trying. Oh damn Chile- why didn't I do this when I was doing your no clutter challenge?? Oh well- Just takes persistence! I find strange things in my bedroom- like why do I have a box of 1966 Plymouth Valiant parts in there? OR Why is there a box with two drive-in movie speakers in there? What the hell was growing in that bowl?

Weekly Update!!!

(Oregon Grapes

WHAT HAS HAPPENED THIS WEEK: Lets see, got the addition I put on house approved by the city (final inspection- now i Can legally occupy my living room!); Need to look into city rules on keeping chickens. Saturday found a new problem with house- No Power in my bedroom! Was at Lowes to get some parts for that problem and found they had a closeout sale! I got an elderberry bush for $1.49! and I got some light fixture medallions for $2 a piece!

Sharon's Independance Day's Challenge:
Plant something: Planted Elderberry bush I got at Lowes; planted wedding seeds I got from cousins daughter’s wedding- The table assignments were on packets of seeds

Prep something: Ordered jar lid sealers for my FoodSaver system after reading chile’s post on them… I had forgotten that I could do that with my Food Saver!

Store something:Ground and froze zuchinni for bread
Harvest something:Hmmm… used radish greens and chard greens (thinnings) picked some dandelion greens and added them to a salad, picked some Oregon Grapes I found growing at a gas station and put those into the salad

Manage something: Got Yard and food waste bin added to my garbage service!
Cook something new: Made an Low Sugar Apple crisp- was delicous, made a couple of loaves of zucchinni bread

Work on Local Food Systems: Bought some zucchinni at the farmers market

Compost something, Reuse. reduce, recycle: Got Yard and food waste bin added to my garbage service! Took old non working Laptop to REPC for recycling.

Learn a skill:Nothing

Crunchy Green Goddess's Shower Challenge Still 5 minutes or less per shower- still catching the warm up wter in bucket!

Chile's Peak Oil Addiction challenge- still no sodas!

Crunchy chicksters “My ass is melting challenge”- I'm melting! Melting! LOL! BUt after reading chile's posts about the heat in the desert, I don't think I will complain about my 80 degree weather- And I have been able to keep the house at around 75 using my ceiling fan and strategically opening doors and windows.

Seedballz WInners

Congratulations to Verde, Jennifer and Jill/agreenfire- YOU WIN MY BALLS! Ladies- you need to send me your mailing instructions since Verde-your profile doesn't include an email address, Jen- you didn't leave a profile link, and Jill your blog doesn't include an email address. Congratulations ladies- you now have balls. And since you have balls you have license to sit on the couch in your underwear, drink beer belch and scratch yourselves in naughty places! Email me at robj98168@yahoo.com

AHHH THE HONOR

TV Reviews

You all may refer to me as Doctor Rob. In case anyone thought different- THHHHHHHHHHHHP!

Chicken farmin' in yer spare time!

so...who is the crunchy one NOW?!?

MetroHippie has found a cool product that he reviewed- The Omelit Eglu chicken house with chicken run. A prefab Hen house that looks great, is sturdy and comes with a chicken run. Perfect setup for Urban Chickens! They also have a rabbit version so keep Crunchy away!

They have thought of everything for keeping pet chickens- according to the website "The eglu is a modern home for up to 4 medium size chickens or up to 6 bantams and is a stylish and practical addition to any backyard. Designed to be the house that the chickens themselves would choose,"now, really I must interject- chickens would chose this design?- damn, designer chickens! "Through its clever design the eglu also makes light work of the chores leaving you more time to enjoy these wonderful pets. The eglu has wooden perching bars and a generous nesting box for egg laying - all the practical features that your chickens need. As well as this come thoughtful extras such as the modern twin walled insulation and draught free ventilation that keeps your chickens warm in winter and cool in the summer." And it looks as though everything is designed for easy clean up! Just remember the words of the old Cab Calloway song- "a chicken ain't nuthing but a bird!"