Drought

Right now, as you may or may not know, there’s a severe drought in Texas. We’ve had something like sixty or so days of three-digit heat (100F and over), and maybe like two days of rain. It’s been ridiculous, and the sad part is most people around here (especially people from out of town, which is most everyone, because school has started up again) don’t even realize we’re in a drought. This means that I need to try doubly hard to make up for it!

The drought is really awful. Right now we’re allowed to only water our lawns and wash our cars at certain times, no fountains are active, no water is served at restaurants unless specifically requested, and no streets are to be washed. I think a lot of people are a little queasy these days about things like dirt and grime and have to use ten tons of water to clean everything, but really this isn’t the case. It’s easy to use little water each day, as long as you prioritize what’s important to you.

For example, a clean kitchen is important to me, and by clean I mean no crumbs on the counter and dishes shouldn’t hang around in the dishwasher for weeks at a time. So I will definitely still be doing dishes often. But it’s not quite so important to me to drink water, so Chris and I will be drinking juice and milk. It’s also not important to take long showers, so I’m going to be using the: rinse, turn off water, soap, turn on water, rinse method. And my yard is a patch of dirt, so I’m not going to be attempting to ressurect the grass until the fall at least.

So it really boils down to what’s important. You can’t do everything but you can definitely do SOMETHING, even if it’s simple. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, and even if your area isn’t in a drought it’s important to conserve water so that there’s enough for everyone and for the future.

I’m not sure how long this drought is going to last but I’m going to continue trying to conserve water even after it’s over. We’re supposed to have a rainy fall and winter here, but now is a good time to build up some good habits.

Are you in a drought right now? If so, what are you doing to try to conserve? If not, how do you feel about being environmentally conscious?

As a note, make sure you read about the Postcard Giveaway! C’mon, you know you want a postcard!

Dear Lunsh.net readers,

Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want a postcard.

I made a few postcards last week for the people who requested them, but there’s still time to request (see this post). I mean, I just bought bunches of new postcards, too. The Postcard Collection Continues!

So you might not even get views of places I’ve been: you might get cats or drawings inspired by life in Japan. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I order you to request a postcard from me!

I might even decorate the front.

I’m sure you could use some fun in your mailbox, and I have a postcard collection to get rid of. So what do you think? Want a postcard now?

You asked, I answer

We didn’t get much of a response to our Ask a Question post, but we’ll answer your questions anyway. I’ll start, and Becky will answer them tomorrow. (Ohmygosh someone tell the butterflies to calm down. I’m a little nervous, baring all to you guys. )

First, Tara asked us a few questions:

1. If you could meet someone historical figure from the past (ie: Napoleon XD — I have Bill and Ted on my brain), who would it be and why?

How historical is historical? All my life I’ve been inspired by Jane Addams, characterized as “the first social worker”. She lived around the turn of the 20th century and her Hull-House in Chicago offered a multitude of services to the people in her neighborhood. She worked tirelessly for years and still managed to write a few books. While she’s not a well-known historical figure, I’ve always liked her and I would pick her to meet before anyone else.

2. We all have hobbies and we always come upon new ones! What would be a new hobby you’d like to check out?

I’ve always wanted to learn how to make my own blank books so I stop having to rely on buying them, but I simply haven’t taken the time to learn it. (And I have enough blank notebooks to feed me for a while.) Barring that, I wish I could draw and paint.

3. What is one song you could listen to all the time and never get sick of it?

A very good question. I would like to say “Drops of Jupiter” by my favorite band, Train. I just love the music AND lyrics. Especially the orchestra parts, I always feel like I’m being lifted up to space to explore the galaxy.

Caity asked:

1. What is your favorite article of clothing?

Wow, that’s a good question. Um. Probably my handknit socks, since I made them myself and just that thought makes me smile. My favorite article of clothing of the moment is an orange swooshy skirt I got while on vacation at the beginning of August. For someone who disdains skirts I’ve worn it a lot lately!

2. What if your favorite book you’ve ever read?

My favorite book of all time is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. To this book I attribute my love of science, science fiction, and reading in general. Madeleine L’Engle opened me up to all that could be in fiction, although it raises my standards for what I’m impressed by.

And finally, Chris asked us a few amusing questions.

1. If you were stranded on a completely blank desert island for the rest of your life, but were given provisions for living (e.g. shade, food, water), what two items would you bring to keep yourself entertained (or from going insane)?

The library and a craft store. The end.

2. Ketchup or Mustard (and why)? Coffee or Tea (and why)?

Ketchup because it’s a vegetable, and almost my favorite vegetable at that (tomato!), and tea because there are so many different flavors of tea. Plus coffee is bitter and I’m sensitive to caffeine. Also I have a new teapot that I love. I <3 tea. Any other questions on this subject?

3. What was the most awkward moment in your life?

My life is one awkward moment to the next. Okay, recently my 8th grade science teacher saw me at the pharmacy and stopped me to say hi, didn’t I go to his school, wasn’t I one of his students? I stared at him dumbly and thought of all the things I could be saying that didn’t make it to my mouth. Then I ran.

And now you all know why I use text as a medium of communication.

4. Typically, what are you doing at 8:34pm?

Cleaning up after dinner and trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the evening. Also, I am glad you picked a number divisible by 3 (and 6).

5. If you could instantly become fluent in one language right now, which would you pick (and why)?

I would pick Polish, because I don’t think I want to devote time to learning the language, but it might be a useful language to know. Or Russian. That would be another good language to know but I’m a little scared of trying to learn it.

Thanks for the questions, you guys! We’ll have to do another one of these sometime.

Ask a question!

Both Caity and Tara have done question posts, and now I invite you to do the same of Stephanie and me! Ask any question of either of us (or both) and we’ll do our best to respond!

News! News! Lots of little things

Oops, sorry I disappeared for a week. The week before last was hectic, then my family went on ‘vacation’ and I got very sick. But! I just found a treasure trove of beautiful, inspiring links to share. I think I’m going to need a new bookmarks folder: “Share on Lunsh.” Because I’m definitely not going to get around to all of them this time.

• First of all, For Family’s Today, Technology is the Morning’s First Priority from NYTimes.com. This is really relevant to me: the Internet has dominated my life for many years and in the last few months I’ve begun trying very hard to take back control. Today I didn’t turn on the computer until two and a half hours after I woke up! I got a lot of things done before then, and when I did turn on the computer I had a plan of things I needed to do online. I’m tired of technology and communication controlling my life. I want to control my life.
• Secondly, a project I dearly support: The Postcard Project: “It is the only mail I get besides bills”: get a postcard! Elizabeth F. McClung is one of my inspirations, almost as high as a role model. Her blog, Screw Bronze!, chronicles her daily struggle to survive and to live, and yet even in all this she makes sure to care about others and lets no one feel alone. The Postcard Project, of which I’m a proud recipient, is her way of making sure other people don’t feel scared and alone. Instead they get awesome works of art, specifically tailored to them.

  My point of all this is that Elizabeth McClung wants to send a postcard to YOU if you want one.

  Do you want one? I’ll vouch for the fact that Elizabeth’s not a creepy stalker just collecting addresses. But here’s a catch: for a limited time offer, instead of overwhelming Elizabeth with many, many more requests, I want to send you a postcard. Yes, you read correctly. I’ve been collecting postcards from Europe, Oregon, and San Francisco, and I want to send YOU one. It doesn’t matter where you live in the world—I’m off to the post office sometime this week to get 98¢ stamps. If no one outside of the U.S. requests a postcard, they’ll just go to waste! So, specify in the comments if you want a postcard from the United States or from Europe and I’ll send you an e-mail asking for your address.

  Please request! Elizabeth and I want to send YOU, that’s right, YOU postcards.

  (And Becky here can vouch for the fact that I’m not a creepy stalker.)

• Now how am I supposed to top that link? All right, here’s one of my favorite letter-writing site: Letter Writers Alliance. I’m a member, Becky’s a member, we both get cool stuff and new pen pals. If you follow my Twitter account you’ll notice that I spend a lot of time waxing poetic when I get letters. It’s mail art and new people to get to know, all in one! Check out the Letter Writers Alliance for lots of cool mail-related stuff.

Wow, I hardly scratched the surface of the brave new and inspiring world I found the other day to share. I guess I’ll just have to write another link post soon!

What do you do when things get hectic?

Why, you have a Staycation! Work for the past week and a half has been absolutely insane (think 9-12 hour workdays), and so Chris got the amazing idea to have a stay-in vacation right here in Austin. Sometimes you need a BREAK but you can’t get away for one reason or another (time, money, too tired, whatever). But that’s no reason why you can’t just do touristy things – every town has a story to tell, and this could be a chance to get your own area much better.

Austin has a lot of fairly touristy things, like seeing the bats or Mount Bonnell or museums or caves, and although I’ve done quite a few things around Austin, there’s still tons I haven’t done or wish I could do. And more to the point, I’m eager to do a fair amount of sitting around and reading.

I know I can do these sorts of things without calling it a vacation, but it helps to do that to force yourself to RELAX and appreciate every minute of it.

What are you doing this weekend? How are you going to get some relaxing in?

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