Zero Waste

As we count down the months until our last days in Iowa (how we will miss this place!) I am faced with the prospect of whittling down our spacious and fully furnished midwest home to fit into a compact little apartment in DC. Fortunately, my husband and I are not of the packrat variety, even so, things do collect. For example, over the past two years we have amassed a decent collection of kitchen appliances (you will have to pry that ice cream machine from my cold fingers), two couches, an obscenely large flat screen TV, and other items too numerous to list.

This is why I was so excited to find an article in Sunset Magazine about a family who lives a "Zero Waste" lifestyle. More on this in blog posts to come.

In a lot of ways, city living will be far more sustainable than suburbia. We'll drive less, use less energy to heat and cool our home, and we'll have less stuff.

Stuff.

Working on reducing it...

Already we have started to downsize. Books we no longer want to keep are sold at a wonderful local used bookshop, The Haunted Bookshop was always one of our favorite spots downtown. Filled with a great selection of fiction, non-fiction, and children's books (along with a few friendly cats), the shop is a quiet, relaxing respite from daily life. Since the shop has recently expanded they have been especially happy to buy used books that are in good condition.

Clothes that are cute and seasonal can be sold at my favorite clothing shop downtown. Revival has a wonderful mix of new and vintage pieces. Sorted by color and always fun for perusing, the racks inevitably have some treasured skirt or adorable top to try on. The shop recently set up a back area filled with adorable clothes for children and babies.

And of course there is always craigslist or Goodwill for giving away furniture or other household items that we no longer want or need. Better to have someone actually use our stuff than to throw it away or haul it with us halfway across the country.

We'll see how this goes...

Image from becominglds.blogspot.com.

Is this heaven?

It's Iowa.

Now there's a hilarious quote to contemplate when you are spending another winter here in the Corn State. Remarkably, despite the weather, people remain as friendly as ever. After spending 24 hours in the black hole, otherwise known as the Detroit airport, the friendly and empathetic gate agent at Eastern Iowa Airport - Cedar Rapids was a welcome sight. In a matter of minutes, the memories of sullen and surly (Delta) employees notifying us of cancelled flights, lost luggage, or equipment malfunction, had all but faded.

Not to say that I didn't rip (Delta) airline a new one when they requested a "feedback" survey regarding my delayed flight. Best not to get on my bad side, that's all I'm saying.

~flutterbyblue

Cleanse and Detox

On a post-Thanksgiving whim, we opted to attend a Saturday morning session of Anusara Flow yoga. This weekend's theme was "cleanse and detox" - fitting given the time of year and the ridiculous amount of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie I managed to consume on Thursday. After a full hour and a half of faux-religious, but well-meaning inundations of Tantric philosophy (I was told to "dance with my breath", whatever that may mean) and some serious ass-stretches, I was ready to take on the mindful-healthful tenants of yogic thought. With my husband snoring peacefully beside me during savasana (aptly translated as, "corpse pose"), I did my best to open my mind and be at one with my "life's energy." It wasn't until after I had downed a freshly made glazed donut and coffee not 5 minutes after class or even after I had purchased a Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs Homestyle Classics in Large Satisfying Size for lunch that I realized just how short my memory span really is. It's true, we can all do better.

Yes, I did just spend a full day at work on a Saturday.

No, I don't get paid overtime.

Yes, I could have eaten TWO Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs Homestyle Classics in Large Satisfying Size for lunch,

but I only purchased one.

There is hope. May the life force be with you.

~flutterbyblue

Leaf Kitchen

Of the many little "gems" in Iowa City, Leaf Kitchen has to be one of my favorites. It is a small little restaurant located on the outskirts of downtown Iowa City, offering wine, beer and sake as well as an interesting mix of small Japanese/Asian-inspired plates. The dinner menu includes simple, fresh and delicious dishes. The Watermelon-Cucumber Salad with cashew nuts, goat cheese, onion, mint and yuzu vinaigrette made for a refreshing starter as did the Grilled Shrimp and White Bean Salad with fresh herbs, tomato, sprouts and pistachio-mint oil. We have had the Korean-style Zucchini Pancakes with spicy dipping soy sauce and the Pan fried Tofu Dumplings with shiitake mushroom carrots, scallion and pine nuts at least a couple of times (both delicious!) and the Cold Sesame Noodles were a light accompaniment. If you are looking for something light, healthy and veggie-friendly, Leaf Kitchen is the spot to be.

In terms of atmosphere, at night, Leaf Kitchen has an adorable charm. One can imagine this is some place other than the middle of Iowa - a hippie cafe in San Francisco or New York perhaps. I have heard the brunch menu is quite good although I have yet to try it out. The afternoon tea was pleasant, but not in the fabulous way of the Taj back in Boston. Service at tea time left much to be desired. While the food was quite good, we were rather rudely berated for having one less person show up for our reservation (a last minute cancellation beyond our control). Pity, since afternoon tea is generally such a pleasant experience.

Despite the latter experience I will undoubtably come back again for dinner (it really is wonderful).

~flutterbyblue

Leaf Kitchen
301 Kirkwood Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 338-1909

How To Be Alone

Sneezy

Twister!

Before coming to Iowa, my only experience with Twisters revolved around wacked out Judy Garland movies or embarrassing party games. I guess there was also that mid-90's movie with Helen Hunt and another actor. In any case, my knowledge was, at best, limited.

My very first day in Iowa City (interview day) happened to be the first Monday of the month (when they test the weather siren). Around 9am the siren went off - a deafening scary-movie sound. My interviewer went on talking as if nothing was going on. I tried to chat for a little while but could barely hear the guy. Finally I just asked about the sound.

Me: "What is that deafening noise?"

Interviewer: "Oh that's just the tornado siren."

Me (trying not to sound panicky): "Uh, should we be concerned about this?"

Interviewer: "It's probably just a test."

Right. Probably just a test.

I believe I was assured that we're not in Kansas so "twisters" really aren't too much of an issue out here. Then again, here is Iowa City in April of 2006:


What I find funny about this video is that a number of the people featured are smiling - they seem excited more than anything else. I love how in the midst of the storm people came out into the streets to see what was going on. There's the frat guy who talks about the cars piled on top of each other, and describes the dumpster "...which is, like, not normally here."

Idiots.

There is at least one home video of the twister itself as it blows through the downtown area. I ask you, who in their right mind would be out on the street holding a video camera?

People have a way of adapting to just about any situation. Earlier this week there was a tornado "warning" (ie a tornado was spotted in a neighboring county). I happen to work in a bunker of a building so everyone just carried on as normal, including myself. I just hoped the warning would go away in time for me to head home for dinner.

I'm no idiot, but I do agree, life goes on.

~flutterbyblue