It's the unofficial start to summer! Here in Portland Oregon it's finally starting to get hot out. We had a pretty cold and rainy spring - more cold and rainy than our previous two springs here. (well, 1.5 springs) In the Garden: We planted about 20 tomatoes too early, and it wasn't warm enough overnight so a lot of them died. Luckily we had more seeds, and the second batch we planted looks good now. We also sprinkled wildflower, clover, and onion seeds all around the tomatoes we planted. They are all looking really good now. Flowers are attracting hummingbirds! I was out watering baby plants the other day, and a tiny hummer got within a foot of my hand to drink from the hose. It was amazing! What else: We traded in BOTH of our old cars and bought a new electric car. My old Altima was with me for 13 (THIRTEEN!) years. I bought it brand new in 2004, and it still seemed like a new car most of the time - just not when it had something break. It was getting to the point where every other month something big would happen to it. Brakes. Calipers. Tires. Ignition coils. It got fairly good gas mileage for a 13 year old full-sized sedan with power seats and everything. But it was starting to weigh on me that I was driving a fossil fuel powered vehicle. Chris's electric hybrid Insight was much newer, but he never drove it. Well, he very rarely drove it. The most use it has had since he started working from home was when we had a roommate who he trusted enough to lend the car to frequently. She took good care of it. But she's moved on, and the Insight was just sitting there costing money. Why pay a loan for something you NEVER use? Our dream was always, for several years at least, to become a one car family. And we really wanted it to be electric. The fewer dinosaur-burning engines and appliances we have, the better! We even tried to make-do with a small electric lawn mower here, but with over an acre to mow that was not realistic. So we bit the bullet and got a nice lawn tractor that can also tow a small trailer filled with compost or logs or whatever. And then we bit the bullet and got our electric car. This is a big change! Hopefully soon we can get rid of the natural gas heater and water heater! In our first house we had installed an electric mini-split heat pump air conditioner in the kitchen, and a heat pump water heater in the basement. We plan to make the same changes again as soon as we can afford it. That won't be for a while, though. Alas. and The Family: We are trying to potty train our kid. She's not happy with it. But no matter how green your diapers are, they are still filling up the landfill. Yeah, they're supposed to be "compostable," but still! She used to wear cloth diapers, but they are not big enough for her anymore. And they're bulky as heck. Maybe if we went back to cloth diapers she'd get embarrassed enough to finally start using the toilet. UGH!
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Hollie Holcombe is a trained architect, LEED accredited professional, and certified permaculture designer trying to find her way in the world, well, PDX at least. Archives
January 2018
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