I think you made the right choice in ending the cycling part of your trip. You accomplished so much more already than merely (merely?!) riding 2400 miles.

Best wishes to you on your new adventures and come back anytime!

I look forward to The Middle Way. My own journey (not that I went anywhere) took a bit of a turn and I had to take a break from “it all”. I, too, have been looking for a Middle Way.

I’ve already added the RSS feed of your new blog to my favorites. The Middle Way sounds great. We all can use a little more balance in life.

I’ve been considering the no-TP route for a while, as I can never seem to get clean using TP. I’ve taken to using wet-wipes (for babies) and they do a MUCH better job and at most I require 2 of em. 1 is sufficient most of the time. They are NOT very eco and they don’t really break down properly, but I use a LOT less of them than I use TP. The re-useable option with bucket sounds.. kinda gross to me, but maybe that’s my cleanliness filter malfunctioning.

I would like to point out one difficulty for men than many women may not even realize: some of us have a lot more hair in our nether regions, which can complicate this cleanup process.

Having a bidet sounds like a great option, but not really viable if you can’t re-do your bathroom! I’ve seen the washlet toilets that the japanese have (well, only on the internet) and I’ve seen a few western bidets in my day but I never appreciated them.. until I realized the difference. The main issue with the japanese washlets is their exorbitant prices. I think I’ll try your method first and if it freaks me too much, I might try this product: http://tinyurl.com/5xa2jl

Some of my friends have suggested the training goo and I’ve been a bit reluctant to try it out since…well its new. I might be more willing to try it out a few weeks into our trip when I am having a hard time with my energy levels.

Another reason I’ve been against it is because I don’t want to start depending on something that may not be readily available everywhere. We have long term plans of biking in S. America and Europe (assuming our upcoming one turns out reasonably decent), and I don’t know if I’d be able to buy supplies for an energy goo so readily in a small village somewhere in EU or S. America.

Somewhere I read something about Lance Armstrong’s diet when training. While it may not be particularly healthy, it could give you some ideas.

When my sweetie was doing long distance running and biking, he liked the energy goo stuff because it’s very easy to digest while moving. His favorite was Clif Shots, chocolate flavor. Rather than buy a zillion of those, costing money and creating waste, he made his own. Running shops sell small gel flasks that hold maybe 4 oz or so of energy goo, with a top like a sports bottle. He’d mix brown rice syrup with a pinch of salt and some cocoa powder. That was very similar to the Clif shots. The sugars in brown rice syrup are about 1/3 simple and 2/3 complex, meaning you’ll get a nice jolt of quick energy as well as ongoing energy as well while your body digests the complex carbs.

Congratulations on getting off the caffeine, Beany!

Many people (myself included) experience shorter periods and much less cramping with the cup, too

There’s a support group on LiveJournal with tons of info. I’m very happy with my Femmecup and will never go back to pads!

Working Rachel: I’ve been using the diva cup with a gladrag for backup because I thought it would be the best option when camping. Maybe you can give it a shot?

JAM: Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll keep NovaSure in mind as we are going to look into permanent birth control as well after our move. Not having such intensely painful cramps wouldn’t bother me.

katecontinued: My menopausal friends complained incessantly about hot flashes and I thought I could easily deal with that compared with what I have to go through with my period. . Fibroids though? Being a woman can seem like the most annoying thing sometimes.

Heather: I’ve read about those pills and have been worried about it, but haven’t read much more into it. Thanks for the reminder. Will look into this more carefully after the move.

I hope that things “ease up” soon so it doesn’t ruin your plans to head out at a particular time. It sucks to be a woman sometimes, especially one who really has no plans on using our uterus for baby making, why do we still have to suffer?!?!

The reason I began looking for alternative shampoos originally was because the regular ones made my hair too greasy no matter what I used. And it just became worse and worse. I generally wash my hair when it gets greasy or smelly or after a long ride. So far, Giovanni’s has been working quite well for me.

My all-time favorite deodorant was the original unscented Toms of Maine. It had a light, pleasant scent. Unfortunately, they changed it a year or so ago so it’s REALLY unscented, and none of their other ones smell the same! I’m seriously bummed. I should’ve bought as many as I could find once I realized the change. Now I’m using one from Kiss My Face.

I use pretty normal shampoo & conditioner, but a bottle can last me about a year since I only wash my hair 2-4 times a week.

I think Chile herself has admitted many a time to being a contradiction in terms

A friend of mine was a real coffee snob (by her own admission) who accidentally switched to decal one year. She tells this funny account of when her daughter-in-law lived with her for a time and helped with the shopping. The DIL would buy coffee with different packaging than my friend was used to, but chose to bite her tongue. Weeks later she read the label and realized she’s been drinking decaf. This was after she even told a doctor she couldn’t get off caffeine.

And, ironically, the very first post I read of chile’s was about her 7 French presses! Great irony.

I had been thinking about quitting coffee for awhile and am very surprised that this time around the quitting was so easy. I suspect my excitement with my upcoming trip played a part in it.

I forgot to mention the numerous deodorants I bought from etsy.com from various people that had lovely scents but didn’t work too well on me.

And I have used Dr. B’s castille soap on my hair and I wound up with a gunk problem on my scalp. I think part of it has to do with me riding my bike alot. I imagine many of these products would work well if I didn’t do activities that caused me to sweat so much. But I will be using Dr. B’s soap to give myself a sponge bath on our upcoming bike trip. I like the fact that they can be refilled but, I haven’t seen that in action in Philadelphia in either the health food stores or the Whole Foods. So till now I’ve just been envious of everyone west of the Mississippi because the refill option appears to be available only in those areas.

We do have alot of adjusting to do. I think we’re going to do whether we like it or not. I’d rather people do it out of their own free will so they are not resentful of it however.

Street art is really cool, that is a beautiful mural.

For me not having money coming in is a huge source of stress. So I am not really concerned that I don’t have a job as much as I don’t have any sort of cash coming in once I/we stop working. Neither of us are aware of any inheritance piles that could be ours tomorrow. And money is just something I constantly worry about.

And I think not having a job lined up on the West Coast is going to turn out to be a good thing. Let’s say you did have one. Then your trip would have specific starting and ending points/dates already predetermined. Your journey would just be the trip between start and finish. Without that concrete end, really your journey is everything that happens after you leave your apartment on X date.

Logistically having a job lined up seems easier. But maybe not. What if you two decide to get sidetracked for a few weeks or months or … Why stress about getting somewhere at a certain time if you don’t have to!

Jennifer: I am being inundated with craigslist users’ emails today as I posted many free stuff posts. Don’t these people have jobs? Where they do things besides surfing the innernets?

Thanks for the positive thoughts.

I hear you on the college degree. I graduated and it took me well over 6 months to find something (I too am a bean counter, not exactly what I thought I would do with a degree in psychology, but the APA disgusts me so we’ll leave that one alone). I’ll keep my fingers crossed that something decent will come along for you soon.

Hang in there, you’ll be blissfully biking (hopefully not through any dust storms in Kansas) before you know it!

Although I have a small skull, its not that small. Maybe I’ll dress up the neighbor’s boxer.

Good luck to you and Brett as well! Hope we all make it.

Good luck and I hope the “withdrawal” symptoms go away for you guys soon!

Well…my archives are always available. And its high time I step down from the blogging limelight and allow others to step up and bask in its glory. See how generous I am? I’m sure no one will be able to match my wit and skillz but not everyone can be perfect.

We could very well meet since we’re still not sure where we’ll wind up. It is both exciting and frustrating, since I can’t plan our route until the end. There is this pesky thing called winter that we’ll be running into that’s making things hard to plan.

I woke in a semi-dream state this morning with a scene alongside a roadway around here. In this scene, I met you and your husband and rode to the outskirts of town with you. Okay, I’m laughing here. I am the person who recently fell down in my driveway just trying to sit on a bike my neighbor scavanged for me from the dumpster. Oy.

But, I am delighted and amused to have a person in my dream I have never met. It was my first virtual encounter in an semi-conscious state.

I will start putting a list together for you. Just remind me if I forget.

Katecontinued: I constantly have accidents. I am really clumsy. In fact, when riding our new bikes home, I wasn’t used to the placement of brakes (we have drop bar/ramhorns) and couldn’t brake fast enough when someone ran in front of me, so I crashed into a wall and got badly scratched up. I’ve been riding a bicycle for about 20 years now (on and off), so unless I turn into some elegant person overnight, I’m going to keep having accidents until I die.

Jennifer: It took me a long time to get comfortable with riding in the city. I rode on the sidewalks until then and dealt with peds yelling at me because it was much safer. I then went through a phase where I was really aggressive on the road and quite obnoxious. Now, everytime I see danger or feel my temper rising, I stop and walk my bike until I calm down. One reason that many drivers can be rude is because they can’t see a biker. Having neon/reflective/shiny things all over you is helpful to them. Other drivers are just rude and they can’t go through life being obnoxious at every bicyclist because its just going to get old and boring after awhile.

I’m flattered that my biking is inspiring to others. Remember, the more people bike, the safer its going to get for others. Safety in numbers!

Good luck with eating while biking. I imagine eating a wider variety of food while you are burning vast numbers of calories is a good thing. I would have a difficult time with that myself. Are you getting plenty of carbs and protein? Thanks for bringing this up, should we ever take a long bike ride, it is something we’ll need to keep in mind.

I don’t doubt your body will kick in and start being ravenous for what you need - without much planning.

That is really cool you’re headed through Missouri. The Katy Trail doesn’t itself go through Columbia, where we live, but an offshoot, called the MKT trail does - the Katy Trail connects to the MKT, it’s not too far out of the way of the Katy Trail(http://www.bikekatytrail.com/columbia.asp). If you happen to be near our area, you should shoot us an email.

Jennifer: After having lengthy talks with my husband about cars, we’ve come to the conclusion that angry drivers are angry because they feel that they lack control while they’ve bought into the lifestyle of driving that supposedly promises freedom. Don’t know if the way I’ve written it makes sense…but if getting from point A to B is supposed to be fast in a car and then the driver has to deal with something slow moving preventing them from being fast, then they’d get angry.

BTW, I’ll be riding through Missouri along the Katy Trail.

katecontinued: That’s funny. I actually used to have a huge fondness for motorbikes, but then the knowledge that they cause pollution and loud and annoying, etc made me like them less.

Building Suburbia was one of the first eye-opening books I read. Hayden’s research into the book was much appreciated by me. I should read her other works, I suspect I might really enjoy them.

The Purloined Letter: I think it takes a while for new ideas to percolate before something can be done about them. I’m glad your partner was inspiring to you.

I’m always amazed when I read about moms changing their thought process and lifestyle after becoming a parent. Its very inspiring to me that their love for their kids pushes them into living a life that can be sustainable.

My husband and I asked ourselves if we had had “enough” before taking seconds of the tasty food. We both felt we were eating because it was good, not because we were still hungry.

I had enough for an entire other lunch today. Me thinks we should implment the “enough” into our food dialogue more often. Shan

But, you gave me a real gift in your link to Dolores Hayden. She was my hero when I was studying design at university. I wanted to go on with my masters and research women in design. I wasn’t able to continue in academia and real life corporate work threatened to stomp the idealism from me. Thank you for reminding me of another hero, Delores Hayden.

I like that you brought up the aggression and anger that people often get behind the wheel. I know this from experience, I used to have a car, and grew up in St. Louis, I would get into my car and turn into a psycho. Seriously, I feel bad now when I’m walking along the side walk and you see someone getting so angry over a few lost seconds. However, there have been many ‘o times when I was crossing, legally at a crosswalk and nearly been hit by someone who wasn’t paying attention and then has the gall to do something like flip ME off or yell slurs.

Thank you for this post Beany, it is nice to see someone else concerned about communication and lifestyle changes, and what that can mean for one’s relationship. Brett is my best friend as well, and like you and your hubby, we see eye to eye on most things, the areas that we don’t, well, they just aren’t important, so long as we understand each others reasoning, we can come to an understanding. Sometimes it is scary how similar we are, how we think, even how we write - we both blog on Veg*n Cooking and most people can’t tell who is who.

Thanks again for this wonderful post. And sorry for my crazy long comment.

The thing about “clean petroleum” is, it indicated that the environmentalists’ message was getting somewhere. The results may not be up to standard, but its a start in the right direction. A year or two ago I would have been really upset about it, but now I think its a good thing. And anyway, after peak oil and after coal is exhausted, whatever is used as an energy source will be somewhat cleaner. Maybe not as efficient, but certainly clean.

Great picture. I do like the implications you stated as well. And “clean petroleum” that seems like an oxymoron, but I suppose I would be willing to give them the benefit of a doubt.

I pledge to discover how much is enough for me to be truly fulfilled, and to consume only that.

Through this commitment to restraint and justice, I am healing my life and am part of the healing of the world.

It says it eloquently I think. But, I agree with you. The 24/7 marketing, and the ‘faux news’ as a cover to sell even more ‘need’ based on fear and insecurity is the giant noise that drowns us out.

I think I will use your metaphor of the first person on line. That is a good one.

I totally think we need to start calling Natalie “Natalie” from now on.

Our official start date is Labor Day, but we’re thinking of leaving a bit early. So that date will be a surprise.

And “natalie”, I’d still like to read your thoughts on Kerala…hopefully it doesn’t get eaten by my overzealous spam eater (as long as there aren’t too many links and words like “penis” and “viagra” in it, it should get through).

And natalie, you should lay much blame on arduous since I announced my trip before she did.

Thanks for your comment Jennifer. Hope you visit again.

I’d be happy to take a couple of your inches…I don’t mind being short, but I *would* like to be able to buy petite pants and not have to shorten them (I’m 5 feet even with very abbreviated legs)!

I’m so sad, really. With Beany and Arduous leaving. I mean, I happy for you both and I look forward to hearing of the new adventures. But it does suck a bit, with both of you leaving at about the same time.

When do you go again, Beany? I still really want to try to recreate my Kerala comment. I’d love to hear what you thought about it. But it’s kind of low on the to-do list unfortunately.

I will be using my journal on crazyguyonabike.com to write about my route since its a bit different from other people’s routes. So I plan on posting my actual itinerary and route (maybe even with map, if I can find a decent place to draw it out) once we’ve passed the place. Because of privacy, possible stalky people, etc.

Here is what I want. The map of the U.S. and your route. Along the way, you can update your current location using a bean as the indicator. When I click on the bean icon, it takes me to a set of pictures of that locale and stories along the way.

That’s not too much to ask, right?

And I see that Chile’s comments about my online habits have spread far and wide.

My email is civiclessons AT gmail.com. And, um, Natalie’s not my real name. Because I have privacy issues. But I already know that you’re a stalker - a bean stalker! And we can discuss this more later…

And I’ll write to your mom. I won’t have any naughty language in my mail to her.

—-

I knew this pseudonym thing was going to bite me in the ass.

I am going to be Beany online until such time that I decide I’m comfortable talking to everyone about women’s hockey and Camp Teotwawki.

Only problem is, I don’t have so much of an address really. But I’ll give you my “permanent home address” ie my mom’s address.

I am happy to keep the BeanFans updated on the latest adventures of Bald Eagle aka Beany Countery, but it would depend on when. I can’t do it in September since I’ll be in India and without great email access as it is.

Or, you could just make fried green tomatoes and enjoy them.

Second - and note to self - don’t write comments on blogs while wrangling kiddos into pj’s. It only ends badly!

I am not sure if I will take my laptop…yet. It will be one more thing to keep track of, but people have toured with laptops and had no problems. But I don’t know yet.

Can you tell, I’m beginning to wonder how I’m going to get my Beany fix!!???

And yes I am carrying books. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall Volume 1 is on my list and husband’s taking some books on Buddhism and a hindi dictionary (so I can teach him). I’m also taking Feeling Good by Dr. Burns.

BTW, are you carrying books cycling across the U.S.?

The thing is every place looks good on paper, its only after one lives there and experiences it can one arrive at a conclusion on how wonderful that place is. Although I think its hard to beat the San Andreas fault line. Nothing like that around here.

It is awesome though. And yeah, we have water issues, but on the OTHER hand, I never needed my heater OR air conditioner. So that’s a huge plus!

If LA isn’t sustainable for water issues, then I charge New England as being unsustainable for oil issues!! So there!! (Personally I think both are actually sustainable.)

SF: Yes, your name is now in the hat.

BTW, I almost asked for the retractable clothesline. I have one already, so I stopped myself - because of my pledge of “Enoughness”, but I just love it.

P.S. I read your posts about checking out California neighborhoods via the web. I recommend the Rockridge neighborhood in Oakland. Fake Plastic Fish lives there and has posted pictures here:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2008/04/earth-day-2008-pieces-of-world-that-i.html

Melinda: the highest compliment one can ever pay to a boy is that he is a girl. So yes, Rob is a girl.

Diamonds are a BOY’S best friend too

Thanks Beany Yer a peach!

I did my panicking over wild animals so I think I’m over wolves, bears, snakes, spiders, mountain goats, coyotes, and even serial killers with a fondness for killing people in sleeping bags.

Now I’m working my way through my fears of car drivers, hicks, thieves and crappy, processed food.

Anything else I should worry about? Please leave a comment, and I can spend an appropriate amount of time panicking over it.

I have plans A through E. So I should be good….I hope.

One huge benefit of this trip will be that I finally will get to learn U.S. geography. Planning our trip has been filled with statements like “oooo so that’s where Gettysburg is”, and “who knew Vincennes was located there…”.

I think it’s best to have anxiety about it now. It’s always good to question yourself and your motives, to think through all the potentials the best you can. It’s all that dark, secret, unaddressed baggage that leads people down questionable paths, makes them make bad choices. It’s not having a Plan B that gets a country stuck in Iraq for 100 years.

So if I were taking this trip, here’s what I’d have to keep telling myself: Be flexible. Be patient with myself, others and situations that I cannot control. And remember to acknowledge when I’m relaxed and having fun.

Relax Heather? Har har!

Well…I hope to relax once we’re actually on the road. My husband thinks he’ll be so blissed out that he wouldn’t care if he got run over by a car (I would!). This is just so new and different and somewhat unusual and lets not forget liberating. I feel like I am in love for the first time…the feeling of wanting to scream at the top of my lungs in pleasure because I am so excited.

Thank you for having such faith in me. And for the encouragement.

Melissa: I don’t know if the adventure will be great (trying not to get hopes up and then get disappointed), but it certainly will be different! In my fantasy world, we will have money to last us through a trip down the entire west coast before settling down. We’ll see how that works out.

As far as decent road food….that is a toughy.

Cindy: One of our favorite cities on the E. coast is Baltimore and its because of that positive vibe we got from its residents. There was this general feeling of optimism everywhere we went. And we did go everywhere.

In fact we were walking to our Bed and Breakfast on an extended trip there once, got lost, and accidentally found ourselves in the supposedly scary ghetto near Johns Hopkins (we didn’t realize it at the time). Now that I think back on it, one of the reasons we weren’t aware that the place was so sketchy was because the place was clean and there were no burned down shells of buildings or crackheads lining up the streets bothering everyone. Its probably the rose colored glasses, but I just cannot remember any trash.

Between Center City and Univ of Penn, all seems pretty nice. Love the brown stone buildings and the history within them.

But whenever I ventured out of Center City, it always shocked me how run down Philly was. We did a Christmas in April project for a west Philly neighborhood and it dismayed me to see how the residents simply did not care about their living environment. While we clean their upstairs, hung dry wall and repainted, the residents of the particular house sat downstairs eating pizza and watching day time soap.

I felt sad because I saw how beaten down they were. And I was not courageous enough to live there. I still have hope though that one day even the beaten beyond repair people can be inspired to care about themselves. And then their home and their community.

Even knowing that, I generally don’t like cities. I visit San Francisco a fair amount and used to live there. The people may be nicer or they may not. They will care more in terms of recycling, biking, etc. but it’s still crowded and dirty. People still fight outside or throw trash where they shouldn’t. That just seems to happen when you get a lot of people living in close proximity.

I live in the suburbs outside of SF. They’re not like suburbs you read about where it’s miles to a grocery store, etc. We’re pretty dense here though not as dense as a true. It seems a happy medium.

Still, though, I long for the freedom of rural life. For my kids to run and run and run and run. To look out over the horizon and see only trees, plants, clouds - not skyscrapers or other homes. I just don’t think we’re meant to live in cities but there are too many of us on the planet now to live any other way.

The plan is to cook on a camping stove as much as possible, but I’m also prepared to eat sandwiches (peanut butter/nutella/jam) if problems arise with the stove. I don’t know how imaginative our meals will be because I don’t know what sort of ingredients we’ll have access to, esp in the midwest. Do stores in Kansas sell tofu? One of my inspirations cooked some really phenomenal gourmet meals on their bike trip across SE Asia…so I know its possible. The question is whether we’ll have the motivation or the strength.

I love Susan’s blog but I don’t get over there often enough. My keyboard can’t take the drool.

Oh, and Beany, I know this will probably make you blush, but come on over and pick up your award.

equa yona: Master of Divinity does seem like a super hero. Perhaps DC or Marvel might be interested in the idea.

I’d be interested to read your thoughts on Buddhism..I find the ideas pretty interesting.

CindyW: South Philly has the scents of a million places with all its various ethnic groups that live and cook here. So I think I have the scent part fairly well. Too bad you can’t smell it.

The freshette looks like a good idea, but I guess you’d have to use a little water to rinse it each time. Does it have a pouch to carry it in?

Pretty exciting, Beany!

So now we’re “loving our neighbors the way we love ourselves”. Since we’re so riddled with self-loathing, another way of saying that would be “we hate everyone else ALMOST as much as we hate ourselves”.

I’m not sure this is a modern construct, seeing as the Bible was warning of it long ago. But I feel like it’s getting worse. Not sure what the cure is, but I think your post was great food for thought!

I have been trying to believe in the notion that these people just don’t know any better…but its hard for me to really believe it.

Yesterday I heard a back episode of Fresh Air about the execution of 7 mountain gorillas in Congo. There are only 700 of them left in the world. I was beyond horrified. At moments like that, I found it difficult to believe that the goodness was universal in all of us.

Perhaps that is why as a non-religious person, I love contemplating god. Perhaps all the while I am trying to convince myself that there is auniversal goodness in all of us despite the dismal reality.

BTW, are you getting ready to move? I’ve lost track.

GB: OooI loved the dip! I’m going to buy that cookbook after my move. I ignored Heather’s challenge and grazed on the dip all last evening when I was making dinner.

Arduous, I ate chips for dinner on Thursday night because I was sooo exhausted. So I can understand. Seriously though…why don’t you try some instant food from the farmers’ markets (baked goodies like cookies, pot pies, etc.)?

I would like to add that this isn’t even an unusual occurrence per se. The other day there were free bagels at work that no one was eating, and my month of freeganism compelled me to get the free calories where I could. I ate three bagels that day. And two bagels the next. Finally a co-worker got so stressed out about my carb loading that she forced a bowl of organic minestrone soup on me. So I ate it.

That’s why I need your photos so badly. I have to live vicariously through the delicious food you eat that I am too incompetent/lazy/freegan (this month) to make!!

Quiche looks good and Arduous will be happy with your photos.

I’ve had very positive experiences with farmers’ markets. It’ll probably change once the marketers of the world find out how loyal we are, but for now I’m going to enjoy it.

And thanks for the warmshower offer. I’ll email you if we’re coming close to you.

Seeing as how you are going to be stopping at farmers’ market throughout your journey I suspect your heart is going to get as good a workout as your intestines. Or maybe I’m just nieve but people at farmers markets seem to have smiles at the ready and are just good people. But then there are good people and people disguised as not good people everywhere.

We’re a bit north of SF if you need a warm shower stop.

One of my many business ideas is to have a business geared toward food and offer cooking classes (for those too thrifty to pay to eat my food) for the amateur cook. I am no celebrity chef, but I’d like to have people cook more and appreciate food more.

In fact if anyone reading this wants to steal/borrow this idea feel free: I wanted to offer delivery service of meals via bicycle messenger and meals will be delivered in reusable containers. Steep fines for those who don’t return the containers. And a lecture from FPF on waste.

http://oyinhandmade.com/oyin/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=7

I usually go without anything on the weekends (husband doesn’t care how stinky I am). But when I have to work I try to use something, because I don’t shower every single day. I could just wash my pits which I did when I went without any deo last summer, but it was tiring and I just have a bad BO prob that bothers me and I still have the tendency to care about what other people think.

I do eat stinky food which probably plays a part in how I smell, but I like my stinky food.

Long distance trips find me craving meat very badly. Especially red meat. I find that strange since I almost never eat meat, but I do listen to my body. So if it wants meat, it will have meat.

As for prevailing winds, since this is also a move, I don’t see any point in starting in the west coast to bike to the place we’re trying to leave. Maybe the experience will enable me to really push for wind farms in the mid west.

As far as intestines — I have a problem eating fatty foods (I think my gall bladder hates me), but while biking I was able to eat french fries with reckless abandon without the usual ill effects. It is difficult to find the foods we are used to, so be ready to look at a lot of menus with hamburgers and chicken patties and fries as this is what Middle America eats.

Long distance biking is really, really fun and I miss my trip already. Going west will not be all that much fun as the prevailing winds will probably be in your face more often than not. But, after a while, you’ll hardly notice them.

Yes I did get one left-zip and one right-zip mummy bags. I originally was looking into purchasing one large bag for two but found them to be too expensive, so the second option was the zip-it-together option. There is this world of travelers that I’m only learning about and I am constantly amazed at their experiences and advice and attitude.

I do wish the WaPO hadn’t posted the Chandra Levy story though…now I’m paranoid about running into dead bodies in state parks.

I will be posting a delayed itinerary because of my general paranoia. So everyone will know where I’ve been once I’ve passed through the place.

And yes, Walmart does let you sleep in their parking lot. I did it once in my car, but I’m not sure if you’d really want to pitch a tent there. I think it works fine for cars or campers, but I don’t know about sleeping there in a tent. They probably wouldn’t care but you probably wouldn’t want to stay there.

Which states will you be going through?

Thus, I have been in the parking lot of a Walmart when we took an RV trip to Seattle and back, but I have never been physically inside a Walmart.

Now, please tell me. What arrangements have you made so you can blog from the road? Hmmmm?

And I decided to put this post up with pictures because I didn’t want to get arduous all pissy.

Thanks Rapunzel!

That chickpea curry looks wonderful!

GB: Arduous is a tough taskmistress! Here I thought I was entertaining myself by writing about my cookery.

I thought your clafouti looked delectable! In fact I hunted down a recipe I’m going to try hopefully this weekend.

As to your cherry pie: I am impressed with your thriftiness and with your discovery that cooked cherries don’t have the bright red color seen in storebought. I had no idea. I made a cherry clafouti last month and it too did not have the bright red color. I just assumed it was my cherries. It must be food coloring in the others. Don’t you think??

I just read this bit the other day - how to keep greens green and reds red (pg 333-334). She says that reds, blues and purples in fruit come from anthocyanins in their skins. It’s water soluble and will wash out readily in an alkaline environment (such as baking power or soda). To prevent this, use an acid like lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk or sour cream in your recipe.

It sounds like a dash of lemon juice or vinegar next time would improve the color…

My sister lived in a crappy apt in NYC with a pest problem and bed bugs that were taking over her life/body (her arms were swollen). My friend told her to buy the grapefruit seed extract and it helped a little. there are some other things you can buy from whole foods (non toxic) they come in little bill bottles you can dissolve and spray.

The tomatoes are adorable. I have tomatoes from the seeds of organic tomatoes. More than 2 months and finally little tiny baby tomatoes are coming. Yea.

Thanks for the kind words equa yona!

I’m not sure if you care about an ex-Californian’s opinion on the matter, but I feel obligated to warn you about the crushing weight CA can have. It’s more subtle in the SF area, but still very much exists there too. Honestly, I never noticed it until I left CA. I don’t know exactly how to explain it. There’s just something about the psyche - from the Gold Rush to present day. It’s a great place for optimistic dreamers, entrepreneurs. It obviously works for a lot of people. But not for me. Despite my desire to be close to family and friends in the Bay Area, I cannot envision moving back there.

I could go on and on about how much I love Portland. But Portland doesn’t work for everyone either. If you are in town, I’d love to meet up!

We were talking about heading to Oregon and then biking down the West Coast so the San Francisco area. But not sure yet of the specifics.

Thanks SF! Your observations from your volunteer vacation really made me reconsider what I wanted to do in the next few years. So you’ve been very inspiring as well.

Come to San Francisco - Berkeley especially for the produce markets - Monterey market in Berkeley has the most diverse produce you’ll find in an area - dozens of apple varieties, tomatoes and anything you can imagine - seriously. Also come to Sf for our famous sourdough bread, touristy farmers market, bi-rite for the salted caramel ice cream (so local), tartine for the sweets and our array of competing indian food joints - no naan n curry but the real stuff.

Plus I’ve just left LA (after 10 years), and I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I did! It consumes your soul (unless you’re Arduous), plus the wildfires and droughts are getting worse and worse and it’s not a very green place (except on the surface). Also not very good for your lung health. Seriously.

If you decide to go to California, I highly recommend going to SF. Very eco-friendly, loads of good things going on. Plus loads of awesome green bloggers that would be instant friends!!

Of course, it takes money and it takes planning. You still have to eat, and with biking, those needs increase.

Oh, and I totally get what you mean about thinking a degree was the magic ticket to a better life and being very disappointed to find out it’s not. I, too, have quit a number of jobs for ethical reasons. Sometimes I think honesty has way too high a price! But, I couldn’t sleep with myself otherwise.

And the noodles look so delicious. I’m so impressed by your kitchen creativity!

Blessed Unrest was not very cohesive and I would have liked more data to tie the message together, but I liked the overall message. And Hawken was a bit more positive which was helpful.

I actually had trouble getting into Blessed Unrest despite the positive tone. Maybe I should give it a second chance.

I love the rating/reader recs, btw. It was a commenter’s idea but I think it really helps wade through the big sea of books out there.

For now I’m avoiding Kunstler and Sharon’s blog, your blog isn’t that bad with the doom and gloom. I want to pretend that everything is hunky dory for now.

And cost isn’t the reason I wanted to make the switch. The reason was reduction of waste. While the juice bottles are recyclable I’m trying to get both my trash and recyclables down to a minimal level.

However I’ve been thinking about running some calculations like the ones Amy Dacyczyn did in her newsletters just to satisfy my own curiosity. I’m thinking of running the numbers and comparing it with generic food and organic store bought food with the assumption that the time spent has no value (just to make my calculations simple). I’ll start doing this from now onward.

Jokes, let’s see, ack, I can’t think of any under all this pressure to be funny. Oh wait, here’s a really cheesy knock-knock joke.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again?

Tom’s tube is aluminum and recyclable at the curbside for me. The cap is also recyclable at special collection events in my area.

I’m pretty much hooked on Tom’s!

The instructions for making noodles do seem simple, I just haven’t gotten around to doing it. I’m sure I took will wonder why I didn’t do it sooner once I do make it the first time.

No sauce on noodles. Its just mixed in with the veggies cooked separately and I added a dash of sesame oil.

I’ve heard there is some local pasta in the Austin are, but it’s $8 a pkg. Ouch. Yeah. I’m not sure I can do that. I’m not much of a pasta eater, but I’ve been thinking about trying to make noodles once, just to say I’ve done it. Who knows. Mabye it’ll be easy, and a year from now, I’ll think Ii was crazy for never having done it. In the meantime, I’ve been buying plain organic pasta for my hubby.

P.S. Is there a sauce on those noodles? They look great!

Glad to hear you’re feeling a bit better!

My mom has shingles and she uses a capsaicin pepper cream for it which also helps for the pain. I’m not sure if it works any better than the tea tree oil, but she does use it preventively as well, which seems to help.

Sending you healing and cooling vibes~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for asking.

I use raw milk as well. I boil the milk and let it sit until it becomes warm. Then I add a yogurt culture (about a teaspoon or so). Let that sit for about 8-10 hours in a warmish room which in my case is the kitchen counter.

I usually boil the milk in the afternoon, add the culture a few hours later and I have yogurt ready the next morning.

The culture I get is usually dependent on the culture I use. Hope this helps.

Natalie: It does suck. What sucks even more is that this is apparently a chronic condition. I guess its a good way to keep me in check and not stressing out so much?

Katrina: I liked the story at silentrant. I am grateful I am not allergic to mangoes.

If you haven’t already, try http://www.localharvest.org/

Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity .

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a

Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don’t Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It ‘In.’

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten
Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso..

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ‘For Smuggling
Diamonds’

7. Finish All Your sentences with ‘In Accordance With The Prophecy.’

8. Don’t use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is ‘To Go.’

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don’t Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can’t Attend Their Party
Because You’re Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock
Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ‘I Won!, I Won!’

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling ‘Run For Your Lives, They’re Loose!!’

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. ‘Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.’

http://www.silentrant.com/?p=138

Sorry, I only know cheesy little kid jokes!
Q: Why did the chicken cross the playground?
A: To get to the other SLIDE!

Blessings:)

European!

OK - I’ll stop now…

I hope you feel better soon. Aside from ibuprofen and tea tree oil, margaritas work wonders…

The maid wants a pay increase.

The wife was upset about this and asked: ‘Maria, why do you want a pay increase?’

Maria: ‘Well, Senora, there are three reasons why I want an increase. The first is that I iron better than you.’

Wife: ‘Who said you iron better than me?’

Maria: ‘Your husband said so.’

Wife: ‘Oh.’

Maria: ‘The second reason is that I am a better cook than you.’

Wife: ‘Nonsense, who said you are a better cook than me?’

Maria: ‘Your husband did.’

Wife: ‘Oh.’

Maria: ‘My third reason is that I am a better lover than you.’

Wife (now really furious): ‘Did my husband say that as well? ‘

Maria: ‘No Senora, the gardener did.’

MARIA GOT HER RAISE!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1.25 cup veg stock (I used water)
1.5 lbs cooked beets. Peeled and chopped
5 tbsp light cream (I omitted)
2 tbsp creamed horseradish (omitted. Not sure what that is)
1 tsp hot mustard (also ommitted)
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tsp caraway seeds (ommitted)
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, chopped (ommitted - just used onions)
8 oz wild mushrooms (I used white button mushroom)
3 tbsp fresh parsley
2 lb floury potatoes, peeled (I used red potatoes)
2/3 cup milk
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill - optional
salt and pepper
——–
Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly oil a 9 inch round baking dish. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook until soft, without coloring. Stir in the flour, remove from heat and gradually add the stock, stirring until well blended.

Return to the heat, stir and simmer to thicken, then add the beets, cream, creamed horseradish, mustard, vinegar and caraway seeds.

To make the potato border, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water and cook for 20 min. Drain well and mash with the milk. Add the dill, if using, and season with salt and pepper

Spoon the potatoes into the prepare dish and make a well in the center. Spoon the beet mixture into the well and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large nonstick frying pan and cook the shallot until soft, without browning. Add the mushrooms and cook over moderate heat until their juices begin to run. Increase the heat and boil off the moisture. When quite dry, season with salt and pepper and stir in most of the chopped parsley.

Spread the mushrooms over the beet mixture, cover and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve at once, garnished with the reserved parsley.

I’m sure it was brilliant and insightful. Thank you.

I’m trying to find the right way to say this…but blindly praising a culture without an in depth look at it cannot yield any reliable conclusion. For example, reading history shows that our ancestors were not necessarily bright nor did they care much for earthly resources enough to be kind to them. But I used to pine for those days not realizing that I would be just as annoyed living in the so called good old days as I am now.

I am starting to believe in the idea (even though I dislike it) that some level of homogeneity is necessary for any level of success in a society. When there are too many outlying/unexpected factors it results in friction. In my limited readings and experiences this rules seems to hold true.

Thanks for these insights!

Sue

Arduous: I did most of my growing up in a big city (complete with mini skirts/bars/internet cafes in the mid 90s/etc). I was referring to Kerala and the attitude I experienced. I know I shouldn’t, but I get annoyed when people talk about how wonderful Kerala is. And I don’t think it is. I would have liked to walk out by myself and take the bus by my self without having the wrath of societal expectations regarding the role a woman plays land on my head. Maybe the place has changed. Maybe its paradise on earth right now and I’m just being mean.

The underlying concern with skin color seemed more to do with marriagability and how attractive any prospective babies would be coming from a dark person. Now that I’m happily married and could have all light skinned babies I want, will my skin color be forgiven? I mean…its not like I had any control over the number of melanocytes I was given (force feeding me tomatoes was certainly not going to fix that problem).The thing is I look back on my childhood and think about how cruel it was to say the things that were said to a young child. I think all children are beautiful..so how does one decide that one is better looking than another? How could anyone think to say such hurtful things to someone who is so mouldable? My reaction now is that these people should be kept far, far away from me.

CindyW: I have alot of self-hate issues that I am working on. Since I think being happy and loving yourself is the most important goal in life, its not worth sacrificing.

So I totally understand where you are coming from - you have to be yourself foremost and love the people around you.

But anyway the cities I do know … Bombay and Delhi, there has definitely been a huge shift in attitudes. People wear shorts on the streets. Not short shorts, but shorts. People wear jeans. Women seem to be allowed more freedoms. Of course Bombay and Delhi are not known for their low resource consumption!

The obsession with being white is a national obsession though. My SO who is Tamil was going to do a mockumentary interviewing people on the street asking them what they thought about the phrase “Black is Beautiful.” I’ll have to ask him whatever happened to that project.

I would mind having to give up personality to live in a low resource community. It’s your identity and who you are. Why would anyone want to trade that for less consumption living? I think you can keep your identity in a high resource consumption society by practicing what you believe. That doesn’t make much sense but you get my point …

Good luck to you and your husband.

I do wonder if there is hardwired shopping genes. However I do think going to extremes as a parent has some influence on the children - either bringing them into the fold completely or sending them away screaming.

Do everything in moderation?

On the calling kids ugly side, I have a similar story, though for entirely different reasons. My mother told me and my sister that we weren’t that attractive so the only way to get ahead in life is through studing hard and working hard. She was never picky with our looks or anything. She thought it was the right way to motivate us to work hard. It didn’t quite work, because my sister still believed that she was a rare beauty. I ended up not caring much about what I looked (perhaps it did work on me, who knows )

I hope you have off-loaded all that crap heaped on you as a child!

I think you are an incredibly thoughtful and intelligent person Chile, and beauty comes from within, not from purchased goods as you well appear to have recognised.

Given the groundswell around the world to more gentle, natural processes, it may well be that things will reverse and your mother and others that are in love with the life of the consumer will become the anachronisms!

Blessings:)

We grew up in the same house with less than two years’ difference in ages. She is now a consuming fiend who would not be seen dead outside the house without make-up, hair properly coiffed, and the nicest designer clothes that credit card debt can buy. Oh, and she really likes jewelry, especially with expensive gemstones.

Me? Standard attire is t-shirt, jeans, and running or walking shoes. I don’t own make-up and I’ve been known to go all day before remembering I never did brush my hair that morning. I own a few funky pins but no real jewelry. Yes, I’ve even ditched the custom necklace my sister bought me for my wedding (because she couldn’t bear the thought of me getting married without a diamond, or maybe she just hoped I’d give it to her).

katecontinued: my husband’s family is a bit like your mother…always needling us about our dietary choices. It can get quite annoying but its starting to affect our mental health less as time goes on.

Only in these last few years, with her being too old and in pain with arthritis and too poor, she has stopped shopping for the wrong things for me. I have been a non-consumer for many, many years.

I get my freakish non-consumerism because I always had to buy everything on my own. My step-mother was appalled when she saw my checkbook (I was 11 at the time) and I had written a check to reimburse my biological mother for .97 cents for a bottle of hairspray. We had to pull our own weight and nothing in life is free, right? Well, there were other issues in that house, believe you me. I have shocked a few therapists over the years…

Anyway, I started hoarding all the money I made from jobs because I knew the less I bought and more I saved, the more quickly I could get out of there and be on my own. Freedom was my motivation.

And arduous is correct (DING!DING!DING!). I do want to be a purple tree when I grow up.

Or I want to be more audacious.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Since you are not giving an answer, I will answer for you: A lioness who can sleep as long as she desires, preferable undisturbed.

The thing that irritated me was that I didn’t remember reading about the transfer limit when I signed up with the credit union. I read the entire terms and conditions booklet (with the size 3 font). Last time I tried to read the law, I couldn’t figure out what exactly it was saying…at least understand it to a point where I could explain it to a five year old.

Hope you have better luck with them!

Unlike you, I didn’t pursue it beyond asking a teller at the bank. As I have discovered with each and every question I raise at the bank - the personnel turn into the Keystone Cops and I am appalled at the misinformation I receive. Anyway, I wasn’t told this had a name, Regulation D, or the 6 transactions.

I was told I could only have 2 a month and the rest need to be in person. As you say, what difference does my physical presence make - beyond the inconvenience to me? Again, this isn’t a credit union it is Union Bank of California.

So, as you can see I bring nothing to your question beyond echoes. I will be curious about answers to your questions too.

I was playing around with the gimp (no photoshop here) last night trying to attach Crunchy’s head to wonder woman’s body. But I gave up on that idea when I read about Wonder Woman and found she had a violent streak. And since this is supposed to be a tribute post I didn’t want to be the weirdo with the oddball tribute. Her name is apparently Diana which sounds a lot like Deanna….

I moderate all first time commenters, but now that you’re approved, you can comment away!

Try using this url:
http://beancounter.blogsome.com/feed/
or this one:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogsome/GWKB

I subscribe to my own blog using the first url so I can do tests to see how it appears.

A quicky google search said that the Prius gets 49.9 mpg. I drove about 132 miles in May which results in me using about 2.65 gallons which is less than the riot numbers.

However the Prius has one of those computers that tells you the mpg every second. Most of the time I am coasting getting 99.9 mpg (which sounds a bit absurd).

I don’t know how I could have forgotten this. I’ve been driving and hating it and getting stressed out for no reason. I am also severely pissed that I cannot use public transit to get there. So I lose out on reading time.

I’ve been bit by the wordy bug as well.