Now Norma Knits

A List of Favorites for a Friday

Every once in a while it's fun to share some things that I like, and it seems to be a popular segment in the blog. So here we go.

1. Verizon Wireless. I have been on a roll of good experiences with them in the past few months, so I think they deserve a shout-out. They had already done some good things for me this spring, and then I got out of the recent phone-in-the-laundry debacle with a quite reasonable and positive outcome.

I did not get a free replacement of my laundered phone -- I really would not have expected that -- but the sales rep in the South Burlington store really put on his thinking cap and thought outside the box. (How many more cliches can I come up with here?)

He helped me make -- maybe not a silk purse, but perhaps a nice Egyptian cotton sateen one -- out of a sow's ear.

In the car salesman's vernacular, he "put me in" another HTC Incredible 2, and I did not pay full retail, as I feared I would have to. I think that's a win. At least I am in less psychic pain over the whole fiasco. Though it remains to be seen on actual paper, and though there is a little bit of comparing apples to oranges which makes it a difficult equation, I think I might actually be ahead of the game in the future billing department.

2. SquareTrade. In the same vein, SquareTrade -- a company I only learned about from Cate, of Mamacate fame, after the laundry incident, has been very decent, as well. More than decent -- downright awesome, and I'm impressed, as are PC Magazine, the iPhone App Store, MacWorld, Google, Amazon, and a host of other news outlets and awards agencies who recommend them.

The one caveat is: It's a warranty, not insurance. So it covers malfunctions and accidents (mine does, because I bought accident coverage), but it does not cover theft or loss. That is something to be aware of. But still, I can't speak highly enough about the customer service they gave me. They canceled the warranty I bought "too late, and yet too early" on the ill-fated device, and gave me all my money back. Then they gave me a new warranty on the new device, with a 20% discount. (If you want a referral for a 20% discount, let me know. I can send you one.)

3. Favorite Apps (so far). You knew it would come to this, didn't you? The lady who moved, rather kicking and screaming, into Smartphone World, is now listing her favorite apps in a blog post. But what're ya gonna do? You're here. You have to read.

Here are the apps I never knew existed two weeks ago, but now I figure I can't live without: (These are all for Android, since that is what I have. I don't know nothing about no iPhone apps, and I don't really care, although I'm about to buy an iPhone for Abigail today, and so you can direct your comments to her if you want.)

• Pocket.  A place to store all your passwords, account numbers, insurance policies, prescriptions, membership ID's, and other things you want to remember but always forget. Especially since I have worked really really hard to make every password different of late, and I have what seems to be an infinite number of accounts and passwords, my brain was beginning to swim and ... oh, hell, what am I saying? I was drowning, and could never remember ANY of my passwords. Now they are all there on the Droid, easy to access from that little pocket lock icon, and synched and backed up to a Dropbox account which you have to have as an adjunct. This week when my phone was washed? I was sure as hell glad it was all backed up on the Dropbox account, I'll tell ya that.
• Smart Silencer. This one took a bit of work to find. It was something I thought HAD to be invented, and yet nobody seemed to have heard of such a thing. With much diligence (I was about to try to invent it myself and hoped to become a millionaire), I found it. Sure, with all the other apps you can block callers, or you can turn your phone off completely at night if you don't want unknown callers to bug you (this happened to me the other night, which is why this issue reared its ugly head). But that is onerous, to block all those unknown unwanted callers (and how you gonna block someone that's unknown anyway?). 
  
  I wanted an app to be able to shut off the phone at night or during a nice nap, and yet allow certain people (e.g. my daughter) to call at any time. This one does it, and more -- if I want even Abigail to be shut out and sent directly to voicemail -- say I'm working and can't be disturbed -- it will do that. I can tell it (and I have) to always be off except for my certain two or three allowed callers from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., for example. It works great and I love it.
• Smart App Lock. At first I was using a password for everything on my phone. That got to be a bit annoying. So this app keeps whatever things I choose to be password-protected, protected -- such as email and messages -- but the phone itself can be used without a password.
• Fast Dialer. I thought the Android's system for dialing a call was difficult -- especially compared to the BlackBerry's, and especially since the Android has imported all my 64.3 billion contacts. This dialer makes sense to me, and I like it. Clean, efficient. Rather ridiculous, I say, that one has to get an app for that, but at least it's out there.
• Alarm Clock Plus. Comes on automatically when I plug my phone in at night, which I think is quite charming to be so smart like that. You cute little Android app, you. I love the look, and it speaks the time to me when it goes off. 
• Contact Analyzer 2. An early annoyance re the Android: All of my contacts from gmail, from Facebook, from my old email accounts, from my BlackBerry every single person who had ever commented on my blog, every business contact -- and probably more that I've forgotten now -- were all imported, which meant in many instances they were doubled, tripled, quadrupled, quintupled. Some things in this "smart" modern world are just a tad over the top. I thought I was going to go INSANE. Until I found Contact Analyzer. And then my life was all clean and organized again. Sort of. 
• Juice Defender. I'm annoyed that this is a necessity. What it really does is turns everything (most everything) off so that honestly, the Android is not really an Android a lot of the time. All those wonderful things they tell you that the Android is automatically synching and automatically doing in the background as selling points for a smartphone? Well, here's the reality: If you actually USE them, your battery life is absolute shite. So this app is smart, and it really is amazing at how it saves your battery life. However, it comes with a downside: My emails, for example, are only allowed to come in in batches every 15 minutes (or whatever setting I choose to set it at). So it's possible that you might send me an email and I won't get it until 15 minutes later. That might not seem like a big deal, but since it was absolutely instantaneous with the BlackBerry, this seems like a bit of a BIG, HUGE step back. And sometimes -- admittedly not often, but still -- 15 minutes is literally too late for me to receive that particular email and be able to respond to its message. But if it's a choice between that and my battery only lasting half a day, the choice is obvious. Irksome, but obvious. 

Anyhoo. I was going to talk about some other, more mundane -- or perhaps more fun -- things such as my recent realization that I only like face and hair and skin products in tubs, not tubes or bottles, and the awesome new running undies I bought that I love so much, but that seems like too sharp a departure from all this tech talk for today. So we'll save pomades and panties for another day.  

Do you have any favorite apps that you think I can't live without? 

sdrawkcabssA

I may have to get a new smartphone soon. I dropped my BlackBerry last week and cracked the front, and although with a hard reboot (or whatever the correct terminology is) everything seems to be working right now, it really does feel like time to move on and get a device that meets my needs better than the BlackBerry, which is quite clunky when it comes to the internet.

I love everything about the BlackBerry for the way I use it, but as with all gadgets and computers and software that touches my fingertips, I drastically underutilize it. I am no Luddite, but I am somewhere near the opposite of what seems like 90% of the rest of the modern world who get positively 

RAPTUROUS

about whatever the latest toy is and whatever the latest app or game is. I have very little use for most of the crap. I love to text and I love getting my email and I talk on the phone on occasion and I need it for my business. I like the calendar and I love getting Weatherbug on my BlackBerry. And I love love LOVE the real QWERTY keyboard. Those virtual keyboards just about creep me out (though my nephews have faith in me that I can learn and adapt). 

Other than that, the BlackBerry is pretty much a brick -- partly because I don't have the desire or need to make it more -- but mostly because of its own limitations. When I'm in an unfamiliar place, looking for a restaurant or needing walking directions or just needing to do a quick Google, the BlackBerry just doesn't cut it. It is so slow and clunky, it's ... um... pretty much a brick.

So my contract with my provider is nearly up -- and the provider and my lack of service at my house, even though the tower is only two blocks away (and the phone will alert me that I AM ROAMING IN CANADA when I am sitting in my home office) and their failure to address it after many years of complaints is a whole other issue. 

Don't get me started on that. I'm talkin' to YOU, Verizon. I don't want to hear a bunch of "I hate Verizon" comments, but I am thinking of switching to AT&T just because of this issue, unless Verizon will give me what I need to correct that. Because I am told that AT&T will give me what I need to correct that issue. 

I'm still thinking about it and talking about it with a lot of people (yes, the chorus of I LOVE MY iPHONEs is screechingly, ear-piercingly loud), and I'm still deciding, do I really want to get an iPhone or not. (Because I really dislike Apple and their policies.)

The one thing that may tip me over the edge, it turns out, is something so totally uncharacteristic of me that I am stunned to learn it:

The cases.

Holy crap. I have now spent probably no less than six hours surfing the web looking at iPhone 4 cases. 

Come on. Are you kidding me? This seems to be a multi-billion-dollar industry.  

And my head has been turned a little bit. Nay, my head has been turned a LOT. 

I don't know if I can link you to an Etsy shop without you having an account -- that's how little experience I have with Etsy (though I do have an account, and I have bought a few things there). For those who don't know what Etsy is, it is defined here. 

So I will take the liberty of borrowing a few photos (I hope the sellers don't mind) and link the sellers as well.

Just the tip of the iceberg, people:

Gorgeous wooden cases from this seller (WoodKaseUSA), and reviewed here.

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These leather ones are killing me:

From this seller (RobbieMoto)

And then, a different look, equally attractive to me, but in a totally different esthetic (Click for bigger), from this seller (tovicorrie)

And I could go on and on. I have even found some commercially produced ones that fit my esthetic.

In the end, it'll come down to me deciding what my real needs are. But in the meantime, it seems perfectly logical to me to buy a case before I even make the decision to buy an iPhone. 

Right?

 

 

Couch to 5K and Me

First off, it's Margene's birthday!  Happy birthday, my dear friend!

And it's Daylight Savings Time. BOOOOOOOO. Hate it. 

But I ran! And then I did Pilates! And it was good. And Sue sent me the most inspiring and informative YouTube videos about running technique which might just make all the difference for me. 

They are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOgDCZ4GUo&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qsSuUGGrM&feature=related 

 

And in that very Norma trademark way -- *sigh* -- I have gone all in.  I immediately placed an order for some running clothes (discounted from here) And by the way, they have a refer-a-friend program that I signed up for, so if you are inclined to order, please click here so I can get credit for referring you: (I hope this link works -- it is so hard to tell in the Typepad preview....)

-- and I downloaded the very awesome Couch to 5K podcast (free from iTunes) on my iPod (which was followed and preceded by considerable swearing at Apple because they would not let me use the new laptop to do it and I had to use the dinosaur desktop computer, which is long past its sell-by date and I could wake up any day now to the Blue Screen of Doom -- and THEN what'm I gonna do?!) (I know, I know, I can call them and they will fix it because they are gods and angels over there at Apple. Shut up.) To me, it's all just the same show, different channel. 

Have you seen this? TRUE, EVERY WORD AND EVERY PICTURE. Freakin' Apple. I know, I know. Everybody loves Apple. Whatever. Meh.

But because of all this, I actually can't wait for my next run. 

 

Well Now.

When I said the Victoria's Secret swimsuits were winners, I had no idea! In the package was a "Secret Reward" card. It's one of those deals where you don't know what the amount of the card is until you buy something. It says it could be $10, $50, $100 or $500 off a purchase between December 1-19. Well, I'm a cynical one, and I often throw these things away. But this time I figured whatever, it'll be ten bucks. So I told Abigail to choose something from V.S. and let me know what she wants, and I'll order it and probably get $10 off. She chose a dress that was on sale for $69. I order it. I put in the card number. I get the following message on the completed invoice: "Your order is less than the card amount." The entire order was paid for, including shipping, with a $20.01 balance left on the card.  

OHMYGOD. The card was for $100!

This sort of thing NEVER happens to me. 

Never never never never.

I sure hope it's not a one-off. The Good Things Come In Threes rule would be very nice now, eh?

 

 

 

 

 

And The Winner Is....

More on the swimsuit journey: I sent back the Spanx swimsuit top and answered their questionnaire about their customer service, wherein I registered my dissatisfaction with their ad copy and the fact that despite the misleading copy I had to pay the postage for its return. And I haven't heard a thing from them, not that I expected to. I always get a kick out of those questionnaires. They ask completely nonrelevant, repetitive questions. Exactly what is it that they are trying to discern by those? Nothing really, I am convinced. But one does hope. 

Onward and upward. I searched for other tankinis. Every other place I looked (and there were several) either sold them all in one, or they very clearly stated in their ad copy that it was the TOP and the BOTTOM that I was buying separately.

I ordered a suit from Victoria's Secret:

And gee, take a look at their ad copy. It clearly states that it's only the top, and that it is pictured with the string bikini bottom. Huh. Imagine that! Even Vicki See's can get it right! And I had an email deal for 20% off and free shipping that day, so I got two tops and one bottom for a lot less than the price of the top of the Spanx one. It is every bit as high-quality as the Spanx one, fits me [far] better, and is a truly better color for me. 

The bra top in this one is great -- much better than the Spanx one. And if I fling my hair like the girl in the picture there when I'm wearing it, I look amazingly similar to her, in a beyond-middle-aged, slightly-not-ideal-weight, transvestite sort of way. But maybe I'm just being a bit too harsh on myself. 

No, but seriously folks: Being that I am not so much the beach babe, I am as happy with this as I would ever hope to be with a swimsuit. 

I didn't order the string bottom, but the high-waisted one. Plus, the colors are much better for me: I ordered it in eggplant (a FABULOUS color, it turns out -- one really never knows about colors when one is ordering online). I ordered another one in java, but sadly there were no bottoms currently available in that color. I will just wear my black bottom from another older suit I have. It actually looks pretty good as a two-tone.  

All in all, I declare this a winner.

------

And a reminder: My eBay auction for the Rowan Magpie Tweed ends tonight, Dec 02, 2010, at 20:27:46 PST. I don't trust my accuracy at working out what time that is in my own time zone. Suffice to say, TONIGHT. And remember my special offer:  If a reader of my blog buys it, and tells me so, I'll add some of my homegrown garlic or a jar of my rose petal jam in the package, as well.  

 

 

Bottom Optional?

Those of you following me on Facebook undoubtedly caught my rant on this already last night. How could you NOT? I admit I was going a little bit nuts about it. But [realizing this should BE the biggest of all our problems, eh?] I'm still just a little bit outraged.

I'm getting ready for a tropical vacation, which is a very rare event in my life. As I have mentioned once or thirty times before, when one is a self-employed person it is extremely hard to plan actual vacations. In the past when I have done so, I have inevitably chosen to schedule my vacation the very week that a lucrative job comes in the office, which follows and is followed by an extreme drought in work. So I pretty much gave up planning vacations a few years back. One's "vacations," such as they are, are often foist upon one unwillingly. In order to make a living, one has to be around to catch the work when it flies in on the silver wings of a dove. It really is rather aggravating at times, this self-employment thing. 

Anywayyyyyyy, I ordered a swimsuit from Spanx. It's ridiculously expensive, but I thought I deserved a nice suit, and I figured it would instantly transform me into a glorious goddess of the beach and the sun. You know -- as they do. See? I'd look just like this:

However, it arrived last night and the order was not complete. THERE WAS NO BOTTOM.  [Wow, I will really need that Brazilian wax now.]

I called to tell them. [Not about the Brazilian. About the missing bottom.]

And the uber-cheerful and perky thang who answered the phone told me that I had only ordered the top. And she further went on to say that "it even says so, right on the page."

So I [had not yet sunk into the sneaky hate spiral that I later sunk into] said to her that that was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. A tankini is, by definition, TWO PIECES, and the price certainly indicates that it is NOT A SEPARATE, but a whole swimsuit. But I believed what she said, told her I was nonetheless upset, that I'd be sending it back, and hung up the phone. 

Then I went to the computer and pulled up the site. And this is what I found. In the unlikely event they change the site based on my complaint, I'll copy and paste it here:

Chic Trim Halter Tankini

$128

Look stunning while you're sunning with this SPANX swimsuit. Chic trim detail in front flatters the silhouette while halter design offers ample support and coverage for the "girls!"

• Full coverage halter features flattering chic trim in front
• Adjustable halter top, customize for your perfect fit
• Soft swim cups for light support and modesty
• Playful sweep flatters midriff
• Made of luxuriously soft, super-premium jersey fabric

-------------------------------

I immediately called back a second time and re-expressed my displeasure, saying that the woman had told me that it said so right on the page, but it DOESN'T. And reiterating that it says swimSUIT, and that a tankini is by definition two pieces. And the price certainly is commensurate with a not-cheap swimSUIT, not just a halter top. And I said that I can't believe they won't be inundated by more of this same complaint on this. The helpful man who answered the phone listened politely and said he would "pass it along." I am not convinced that he will, so allow me to vent here, wouldja?!

My complaint, again, ad nauseam:

It is called a SWIMSUIT. It describes that the halter top adjusts for support. Etcetera. And on the bottom of the page, it says that I might also be interested in some other girdles bottoms, but nowhere does it say I'm only ordering the top and that the bottom is sold separately. And I repeat for the umpteenth time, it is called a swimsuit. Not a halter top. Not even a tankini top, but a tankini. On the previous page, there is another tankini for sale. It has much of the same language, but includes this line: "For even more Spanx shaping support pair with the Basix High-Rise Bikini Bottom." This, to me, suggests that the bottom that comes WITH the suit provides less support. I was thinking it would be a bikini bottom, like most tankinis I have seen, and that if you wanted a full-body swim girdle, you could get their "high-rise 'bikini' bottom." It in no way says that it does not come with a bottom, or that you have to order it separately.

Dear Sarah: Here is the easily-found definition of a tankini, all over the web:

Definitions of Tankini on the Web:

• The tankini is a swimsuit combining a tank top, mostly made of spandex-and-cotton or Lycra-and-nylon, and a bikini bottom introduced in the late 1990s. ...
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankini

   

• A bathing suit composed of a tank top and the lower half of a bikini
  en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tankini

   

• A contemporary style of swimsuit that combines the comfort and coverage of a tank top with a traditional bikini bottom.
  style.ralphlauren.com/glossary/default.asp

   

• A two-piece bathing suit with the upper portion resembling a tank top.
  www.mollybloom.com/style-glossary/

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The resort I am going to I think has a top-optional beach, but I don't think they have a bottom-optional one. Perhaps Sara Blakely can tell me where to go that I can wear this "suit."

She'd better hurry, before I tell HER where to go with her overpriced halter top and her cutesy-wootsy language about "the girls." They're called breasts, Sara. You're a billionaire now. Let's grow up, shall we?

That is all.  

WTF Wednesday indeed.

Follow-Up Reports

Often when I write about something I've done/bought/tried, people will ask me to report back later as to how it has worked out for me. That will make for a pretty meaty post, methinks, and I'm quite ripe for it. So, in no particular order, here we go. I've recently learned that bloggers who review something now have to make a disclosure whether they have or have not received something in payment for their review. Rest assured, I have no interest, financial or otherwise, in these companies or products, and have not received any gifts or kickbacks from any of them. Damn it. 

1. South Beach Diet. I lost 7 pounds in five days or so, at the beginning of the South Beach Diet. And then I didn't lose any more. I was pretty faithful to it for those first two weeks, but I am quite sure I cheated some. Then I shifted into Phase 2 (some more carbs are allowed in Phase 2), and within fairly short order started to cheat quite a lot. I had cake a few times, I had a large bakery cookie, I had a half a slice of pizza, I had bananas quite frequently with my yogurt, and dates and prunes, for example, and jam, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is not behavior of which I am proud. 

But seriously, I'd say that a large majority of the time I've been faithful to the diet. I haven't been able to exercise as much as I'd like because of this bunged-up elbow situation, but I have kept the 7 pounds off, and a few friends have remarked that I look like I've lost weight. But I have plateaued and not lost any more. Then again, this past weekend I had an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I am not repentant. 

Starting this past Sunday, I put myself back on Phase 1, and so far I am very much enjoying the food and the rigor of the regimen again. (I am lying through my teeth. I am craving carbs like nobody's business and I would perform unspeakable favors in order to have a whoopie pie right now.) The cravings are worse this time than I remember them the first time. I guess the moral of this story is fairly self-evident. 

No, but really I do love it. Really. And now that my elbow is no longer buggered, I will be able to -- and this is perhaps even more important: have the desire to -- get more vigorous exercise, so that should help. Overall on South Beach: Thumbs up!

2. SodaStream. BEST PURCHASE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD! I could not be one iota more enthusiastic about this gadget. We are still, and we cannot believe it, using the first CO2 cannister that came with the set. It's like the never-ending cannister, I tell ya! I ordered three more from the company, and they have arrived, but we have not had to open the package yet. Unbelievable. We must have made.... we just don't know.... but wayyyy more than 100 liters of seltzer from this thing, so it has already paid for itself probably at least two times over. Delicious, fizzy seltzer that is so easy and convenient to make, and no lugging big bottles from the supermarket or having big empty bottles cluttering our recycling area, or to have to return. And I think it has made such an impressive decrease in our carbon footprint and clutter that I can hardly believe it. One of our two plastic bottles seems to have maybe got too close to a heating element on the stovetop, so it is somewhat, um, more curvy than it was when we got it. It's only a little, but I may have to relent and buy another couple of bottles. HUGE ENORMOUSLY ENTHUSIASTIC THUMBS UP. 

3. Homemade Yogurt, specifically with cultures from Custom Probiotics. (Edited to add answers to questions: I use their Starter Culture No. 2 and follow their directions for heating and incubating, which are a little different than the ones mentioned in blog posts about it previously. i.e., stovetop to boiling point, and then incubating at a cooler temp for a longer period. I am sold on this method, as I think it is the key to that super-mild flavor I love. And I add 1/2 c. powdered milk to each quart of liquid milk before heating it up.)

Another heeYUUUUUUGE winner. Love the yogurt this makes. So mild, and while it's very thick on its own, when some of the whey is drained off (I use an unbleached coffee filter), it is simply divine Greek-style yogurt. Thick and mild and wonderful, and I can eat it without any sweetener. Sometimes I add some maple syrup or homemade jam, or to make it South-Beach-Diet friendly I sometimes add Splenda. The other night I made the South Beach Packed-Full-of-Veggies Chili and added a plop of this on the top and some sprinkles of shredded cheddar. Yummo! 

I make it about once a week. The cost of the culture runs about $1 a week, and a gallon of local hormone-free milk is under $3. Given that it is so economical, I don't bother trying to stretch it beyond that, but I'm sure you could make more batches from your own already-made yogurt. I like the convenience of the fresh powdered culture each week, and I feel that I'm ensured a greater concentration of live cultures this way. (There are 50 batches in the bottle of culture, and it has a stated shelf life of one year in the freezer. So that works out perfectly to about the number of batches I'll make in a year -- matching its shelf-life, so I don't see any reason to cut any more corners on this.) It's photographed with ground flaxseed, maple syrup, and walnuts. Wonderful, I tell you!

4. Snack Taxi. I haven't given this much of a workout, really. Because I don't take sandwiches to eat at work or such, and the foods that I do take with me are salads or wet or gooey foods, the only thing I have used this for is to carry nuts and trail mix. It is perfect for that, and I think, from a carbon footprint standpoint I have already saved a couple dozen plastic sandwich bags from the landfill, but from an economic standpoint, it won't have paid for itself for quite a while to come. If I were more conscientious, I would probably reuse my plastic sandwich baggies, but I don't tend to do that much. They look grungy and unappealing to me after use packed with nuts or whatever. So this has been wonderful for that. If I were a sandwich-taker, I think it would work well enough, except the mustard or mayo or peanut butter or jam would probably be a bit messy and it might absorb the odors of those things. It'd be great for a kid who eats those Goldfish crackers and pretzels and whatnot.

Because I have only carried nuts in it, I have only washed it once, and that was only because Mr. Jefferies decided that those smoked almonds smelled tasty and when I wasn't paying attention to him, he liberated it from my briefcase and had a field day trying to get it open. It washed well enough, but I'm not 100% sure I'd be on top of things enough to wash it after each sandwich. It doesn't dry relatively instantly like a travel mug does, or my wonderful (see below) bamboo eating utensils. If I were a sandwich carrier or had a bunch of kids who took sandwiches, several of these would be required so that you could use them, wash them, let them dry, and reuse them. And then there'd also be the issue of will the kid remember to bring them home (and they're pretty pricey). So for my limited use, a semi-enthusiastic thumbs up, but overall I'd say "Nice idea, but a little beyond my (considerably low) threshold for practicality/function/economical desire to lower my carbon footprint."

5. Bamboo Eating Utensils from To-GoWare. Another big winner. These work so well. They feel good in the mouth, and the knife is miles better than the plastic takeout knives you get. It wouldn't cut steak, mind you, but it does a great job with everything I've taken out for lunch so far. I'm not a fan of the spork, which in my opinion doesn't work well for either the function of a spoon or a fork. So this little very lightweight set has it all -- including chopsticks -- and it even stands up conveniently and comfortably in my very small purse. I have been able to decline taking plastic takeaway utensils several dozen times already. I love it. Thumbs UP!

Going Right To Town

In addition to yogurt, another thing we go through a large quantity of in this household is seltzer. Yeah, yeah, you killjoy, we should just drink water, but that gets boring. And at all times, but particularly when we're dieting (Did I mention David is doing South Beach along with me? He is, but he's doing a lot of whining about it, I will note) you just gotta have a little bit of zizz in your life. Seriously. The fizzy bubbles on your tongue and down your throat, you gotta have it. That's why I need my Diet Pepsi or Coke, too. I constantly try to watch my intake, but seriously. I need it. Life is too short to never have anything zizzy. 

Earlier this week, Marcia (who is no longer blogging) told me about another way to reduce my carbon footprint:  Make my own seltzer and soda with a SodaStream. (Warning: a click on their site starts a video, in case you shouldn't be doing that at work or something. Not that you would if you shouldn't be. But, you know, turn off your sound. Heh.) 

Make my own seltzer. Really? 

Yes! It makes perfect economic and ecologic sense. In the case of the seltzer, no more big, heavy plastic bottles to a) lug from the store, b) have hanging around the kitchen, c) have to return for recycling, and d) before it even gets to me, be driven by the big rigs to my store, and all that that involves in terms of petroleum. (When I talk like this, I start to worry about putting a whole shitload of long-haul truckers out of work. Gah. There is no winning. Is there?)

The claim is that it makes seltzer (from my own filtered tap water) for 25c a liter, which is a huge saving, right there.

And a friend asked me Why? when seltzer is so cheap anyway. Well, in addition to that huge dollar saving right out of the gate, I'll let the box tell you more reasons:

Well, anyway, I stopped in Sears when I was in Burlington the other day to search for one, because the website says that the Burlington Sears store carries them. Not. They had a few bottles of the soda flavoring syrup, but no soda makers. I had put it out of my mind, but last night I was doing grocery shopping to stock up on yummy South Beach Diet foods, and I was about to put two 2-liter bottles of store-brand seltzer into my cart, $1.00 each, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed the SodaStream logo, now familiar to me because I was in search of it the other day. And hot damn, it was right there in my grocery store! Even better, it came with a $10 rebate

and there were far more choices of flavoring syrups available than there were at Sears, as well. I chose Diet Cola, Diet Root Beer (that's Abigail's favorite), and Diet Grapefruit, though I am mostly interested in making unflavored seltzer with this thing. And when I checked out, the woman bagging my groceries said, "These are SO COOL. The guy was demonstrating them the other day, and it TASTES GREAT!" 

And who are you gonna believe if you don't believe the grocery-bagging lady?

Though I have not yet tried it to see if a) it works and b) it tastes good, I'm going to be optimistic that this will not be JUST ANOTHER GADGET cluttering up the counter and be found in next year's Goodwill donation box. 

I figure I've already saved $12, what with the two bottles of seltzer I put back on the shelf and the $10 rebate. And we're not even talking about all that Diet Pepsi I won't be buying if this gives me a reasonable-tasting alternative to that. At this rate, this thing will have paid for itself in a month. Or less. 

The cost of this starter kit was $79.99. I got the low-rent version. Marcia got the fancy top-of-the-line one with glass carafes instead of plastic -- THAT is really putting your money where your mouth is on this whole anti-plastic thing, but I live in Northwestern Vermont. I am sure that the store manager did not and will not stock the expensive version, because it just won't sell around these 'ere parts. I am just beside myself with glee that, so soon after I learned about this thing, it was actually HERE in my neck of the woods.  

So now I've got my reusable mugs, my reusable shopping bags, my reusable to-go eating utensils; I'm making my own yogurt, I'm growing as many of my own vegetables as I can; I'm eating as locally as close to 100% as I can; I'm using cloth towels and napkins instead of paper; and I'm making my own seltzer.

And none of it is really that hard.

Smugness abounds. 

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P.S.  The CO2 canisters are returnable/recyclable, and since this unit was sold at my local supermarket, I am going to assume/hope that that means they will handle the recycling of the canisters, too. Fingers crossed.

The (Tangible) Things I Brought Home From Rhinebeck 2009

I had the unrealistic plan of buying nothing, but you know how that goes. I did spend more than nothing, but I didn't damage the budget too terribly bad, I think.

A really great tote bag:

It's great-looking, well made and well designed, with two outside pockets, two inside pockets, and a drawstring-topped liner in contrast color, as well as a carabiner on the side. From Sliver Moon Farm.

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Some really interesting soap:

 

They had me at "gin & tonic."  From a very cool Rhinebeck business called Merriweather's.

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Some Trekking sock yarn for Paula, because she is Trekking-deprived and I was on a mission.

 

This one doesn't count against the budget, since it's for Paula.

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A sweater kit to make a couple sweaters for you-know-who:

Charcoal grey alpaca, no less. From Style Hounds SoHo. I know I said I wouldn't, but if you saw this lady's pooch sweaters, you would have caved too. And I chose charcoal grey because it just seems to match a sophisticated little city-and-country Yorkie with a posh and proper name like Mr. Jefferies. However, for a small dog like Mr. J., the kit makes two sweaters, and I wish I had had my wits about me to ask her for two different colors. (she had a great selection) What is a guy gonna do with TWO charcoal sweaters, hm????  Perhaps I will have to use two different stitch patterns.   
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And a sweater's worth of Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in Moss Green (I have in mind the sweater pattern Gaelic Mist for this yarn, a finished model of which I saw and admired this weekend)... 

...which they packed for me in a nice canvas tote.

 

And just before I was ready to hit the hay for the night before a very busy work week, I remembered that I forgot to photograph the pewter Celtic buttons I also bought for the green sweater. I'll save that for another day, and now I've got to get to sleep.

Answer to Yesterday's Question: Yes, Apparently.

Well, a little adversity adds to the storytelling and the fun memories, I suppose.  But Joan is my witness: I am a magnet for the bizarre. It's almost as if I'm walking around carrying a sandwich board that says, "Blogger needs work. Please give me something to write!" and the universe is ever-so-kindly obliging.

Ergo, if you wanna have a good time, call 5FR-EAK-SHOW, and go somewhere with me.  Guaranteed to be memorable or your money back! 

So after we had finished with one building, we hobbled through the mud and walked into a barn where there was a nice display of really great-looking felted items -- an amazing big dragon and some artistic figures of various kinds.  I was admiring a very realistic-looking (well, except for the twee Christmas froufrou stuff attached to it) felted Sorel boot. I picked it up to show Joan, because it was tight in there, and she was using a walking stick and having trouble negotiating the place.  A voice from somewhere behind me said, and when I say said, I mean shrieked, "Lady, can't you READ?  It says do not TOUCH."  I started to turn around and said, "What?"  She said, "ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!"  

Stunned, I dropped the felted boot and looked to see where this was coming from, with a huge smile on my face and a giggle.  I have a lot of friends with slightly sick senses of humor, and it could very well have been one of them.  But no.  It was just that Halloween had come to Vermont a bit early.  It was a lady sitting behind a barrier that we later not-so-affectionately referred to as "The Troll Lady."  

The sign that said "Don't touch" was a handwritten Sharpy scrawl on a piece of lined notebook paper, stuck onto the shelving with a little piece of masking tape at hip level (whereas the items on display that I was admiring were up at eye level) and curled up from the rain.  

Who ever heard of NOT TOUCHING THINGS at a fiber festival?  It's a TACTILE experience.  And if you don't want items to be TOUCHED, particularly at a fiber festival where touching is very much a part of the experience, put them behind glass.

So I put it down, and then she screamed at me to NOW, STAND IT UP! My sense of humor evaporated -- *poof* -- and I told her I shouldn't TOUCH IT, so I wasn't going to STAND IT UP. Joan and I both said, "We should LEAVE now," and made sure all the other booth minders in that barn heard us.  And we did leave, looking at their uncomfortable smiles as we did so.

We were still talking about it in the lamb burger line, and the nice lady with a slight southern accent (wish I'd gotten her name and photo) in front of me said, "Where was she?" so I told her which building and where.  She says, "Hold my place.  I'm going to go TOUCH EVERYTHING in there."  So I followed her in the pouring rain with my camera in hand, to record the fireworks for y'all.  

Our new compatriot in crime goes in with a great flourish, after I had pointed out to her the troll lady, and starts touching EVERYTHING (it was the cutest thing EVER, and made me giggle).  But the troll lady saw me, recognized me, and she slithered out of there, away from the display of felted items, past me, and, without making eye contact, said in a very teeny, grudging voice, "I like your sweater."   

Memo to Vermont Sheep & Goat Association, with huge apologies to the remaining vendors whose booths we did not visit because we were turned off from the festival and left shortly after that, because none of this was your fault:  If this had been my first-ever fiber festival, I would never go to another. Also, if this were my first visit to Vermont? NEVER, ever AGAIN.   Welcome to Vermont, indeed.

BUT!  I bought some wonderful things, and let's forget all about Troll Lady so I can show them to you.  

 

I wish I could photograph this clearly and without a glare, but I can't seem to manage it.  It was labeled "Celtic Agate," and it is stunning. I also wish I could tell you the name of the vendor, but I don't seem to have that info, either.  It was the first vendor we happened upon that took credit cards, and I said to Joan, "I'm going to buy something here, JUST BECAUSE they take credit cards," and lucky for me, WOW, this stunning pendant was there.  Score.  

 

Once again, the photo does not do this luscious "Autumn Flame" sock yarn justice.   It's Ivy Brambles SockScene 100% merino from Yarn and Fiber.  

Now, I know what you're thinking -- "You don't knit socks!"  

True, but I planned on making a cowl with it.  Well, as great fortune would have it, in the next booth I stopped, I got to try on one of Anne Hanson's wonderful neckwarmers, Spiraluscious, at the DyeDreams booth.  I loved it, and I also loved the sweet KnitSpot kits she had put together -- choose your pattern, choose your yarn, and it all came packed in a great see-through plastic tote bag.  Very neat.  Joan got one, and I would have, but I had already bought this yarn at another booth. I bought the pattern from KnitSpot as soon as I got home. 

Except for one other thing that I can't blog about, that's all I got at the festival, except for a few hugs and laughs and getting screeched at by Troll Lady. And that was followed by a wonderful meal -- complete with a really weird (but highly positive) experience of its own -- at a grill and pub in Waterbury called Arvad's.  Highly recommended.