It's interesting the number of sites I've found about living a self-sustaining lifestyle in an urban scene, with an identical vantage point to my own. But I'm a suburbanite. I can't afford to live closer to town, and on one hand I'm stalwartly inclined to live as city dwellers do, but am in a place with astoundingly less support and understanding.Not only am I contributing to sprawl (well, I can rationalize that the house is 65 years old and not part of a new cookie cutter neighborhood), I am a commuter. I contribute to the problem. I feel bland and identity-less, like the neighbors in Edward Scissorhands, before all the cool haircuts and strange topiaries. Because where I live people don't like things that you don't buy new. Seems this goes for cars, clothes, and lawn ornaments.
Which is fine. I don't have much to say to that. But it's not a suit that fits me and definitely one I'm not ready to wear yet, if ever.
So back to the car free weekend. My mom and I went shopping (which somewhat cheated the car free weekend since I rode my bike to her house then we drove all over town*) and stopped by all the fancy schmancy garden centers and I ended up with 8 artichoke plants and a Haworthia (reinwardtii?). Those may not mean much to you, but to me the artichokes mean that much less yard. Bit by bit the suburban lawn will become an edible oasis of chill.
The Royal Gardens -- Elizabeth --an $8 Haworthia, plus several other tempting succulents. gorgeous burro's tails outside, but nothing else so tempting I needed to grab it at the time.
Garden Secrets -- Southpark --2 4 inch pots of nasturtiums and 4 4inch pots of artichokes, I dug through all the plants to find the ones with multiple plants in the pot to get the most of my money. They were $2.50 per pot, so $15 plus tax.
Later, on Saturday, we took the city bus into town to meet the younger of my 2 older brothers for dinner and then to see They Might Be Giants. Which rocked my world and mysteriously healed a nagging headache. How's that for awesome?
Earlier in the week I spent $13 on a 2nd 75 foot soaker hose; $5 on a cheapy cheap metal trellis for the grapes (the heat makes me feel inclined to believe Mr. C will not be building the wooden arbour he had in mind for them). as well as $22-ish on the new birdbath.
Yard total for last week after tax was approximately $68, not including the city water used.
Garden Secrets -- Southpark --2 4 inch pots of nasturtiums and 4 4inch pots of artichokes, I dug through all the plants to find the ones with multiple plants in the pot to get the most of my money. They were $2.50 per pot, so $15 plus tax.
Later, on Saturday, we took the city bus into town to meet the younger of my 2 older brothers for dinner and then to see They Might Be Giants. Which rocked my world and mysteriously healed a nagging headache. How's that for awesome?
Earlier in the week I spent $13 on a 2nd 75 foot soaker hose; $5 on a cheapy cheap metal trellis for the grapes (the heat makes me feel inclined to believe Mr. C will not be building the wooden arbour he had in mind for them). as well as $22-ish on the new birdbath.
Yard total for last week after tax was approximately $68, not including the city water used.
But all weekend we drove off less than 1/20 of a gallon of gas, and it was to get the made-from-scratch chocolate birthday cake from our house to my parents' Sunday evening, approximately 51 hours after we parked the car on Friday. That, my friends, is a pretty big deal for a yearnin-to-live-urban-suburbanite.
*On our journey we stopped by Crate and Barrel, where I finally got to see my beloved beverage jar in person. Our first date.