Wow!  What a gorgeous end to this third week in January!  Yesterday I decided to stay on foot, and walked the two and a half miles to a cafe to meet with one of my interview subjects for what I thought was the first time, only to realize through our conversations that we’d met five or so years ago through mutual friends! Kinda cool.  After that, some last minute arrangements for lunch in the far end of the Pearl motivated me to walk the two or so miles into the city, crossing the Broadway Bridge, retracing my former bike commute back when I was working a regular Monday through Friday job.  Realized I don’t like crossing long bridges on foot and why I prefer going over them much faster, on my two wheels.  But I did stop and snap a few shots, like the one above, and am happy to show y’all a piece of my world.  And speaking of that, here are some of the Eco things I’m thinkin’ you should also know about…

* Happy to learn about another sustainable seafood “CSA” of sorts, through Ecotrope’s article, Knowing Your Farmer – And Your Fisherman.  By the way, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Ecotrope blog is definitely worth following.  Whether you live in the Pacific Northwest or not, there is a TON of inspiration with a tremendous focus on community integration with the environment.  Yep, right up my alley.

* I’m not always the easiest tummy to please.  While I adore a cappuccino, my insides don’t always appreciate it as much as my palate, and I’ve discovered the soy milk in my chai has been causing me a wee bit of distress as of late.  (And regular tea?  Never liked it, can’t stand the smell nor the taste.  Yes, I’m weird.).  And being the Sensitive Sally that I am, you can probably guess that caffeine affects me quickly, so with these afternoon meetings that I have with clients, I would love to have something without alcohol and without caffeine to enjoy.  Stumbling across Caffeine-Free Hot Drinks: 5 Alternatives to Coffee and Tea, well it (pardon the pun) woke me up.

* So it’s only been what, three years since I had my neighbor and an old flame work together to build my deck, and leave off the railing because of my indecision on what it’d look like.  Last fall I bought some of the cedar to put in posts and it’s still in the garage.  I want something unique, and not the “jail” bars of so many “kit” style railings.  So I’m contemplating the Deck Bench and Planter Project Plan that someone tweeted recently.  Hey, anything that requires only basic woodworking skills? That’s my kind of project.  In 2013 one of my resolutions has been to continue to build more on my property, rather than ask someone else to do it.  By the way, yes I do know it’s January and below freezing.  This is what we urban homesteaders daydream about, yo!

* And going old school, I fell in love with the article 4 Benefits of Writing by Hand that my friend shared online the other day.  Ironic that I’m blogging about it, I know, but if you know me, you know that I carry my journal in my bag with me every day.  Okay, I carry two journals – one for my EcoGrrl stuff, and another as more of a “dear diary” of sorts.  The stuff I don’t share with y’all.  Hey, some stuff is just for me .  Added to the nice feeling of writing with a pen and reminding the callous on the inside of my right middle finger that it wasn’t in vain, the fact is, writing stuff down helps you learn faster.  They explain it better in the article of course, but that’s why I do it.  And hey, I like to see something in my own unique “font”!

* Finally, before I head off to my Friday morning yoga, I’ll share this morning’s breakfast: one sliced portabello mushroom, green onions from my pot on the front porch, a clove of garlic harvested last summer, and a couple squares of french feta, sauteed nicely.  And to top it off?  Lovely yellow grape tomatoes from the garden.  Why am I sharing this?  I took Garden Betty’s advice on freezing tomatoes.  I’ve done it in the past with the big girls, but this year tried it with the billions of leftover li’l gals, and am SO grateful.  January.  My tomatoes not canned but tasting nearly as if they were just plucked from the vine.  Mwah!  Perfecto!