Wednesday 25 June 2014

Green Drinks in a month & the Tree of Life on the 19th

July Green Drinks is on the 30th, as always at Bitters.  (Regarding the "as always" part, I have communicated directly with Bitters' manager, who has assured me our future meeting won't be competing with pub quizzes.)  Prior to that, we're going to the Tree of Life on the 19th.  FYI--the Tree of Life offers private rooms in their bunkhouse, so we won't all be stacked on top of each on bunk beds.  And just a reminder--no drinking or drugs at the Tree of Life.

On the 30th, John of Green Rock Electric Vehicle Solutions will be joining us.  So apropos of that, here's a video demonstrating what's possible.

Saturday 21 June 2014

Recycling 2.0 & A Month Away from the Tree of Life

One of my goals this summer was to get a new bike and resume my habit of biking to work.  Of course, I had to do something with the rustbucket that was my old bike, and I wasn't finding many good options.  Then I heard a snippet on CBC about the Read-to-Ride program.  Read-to-Ride takes bikes that would've ended in the dump, delivers them to the local prison, where inmates completely refurbish them.  Then the like-new bikes are used as incentives for kids to meet certain literacy goals.  So I was stoked.  After checking, I learned that it's run by the owners of Long's Hill Convenience store.
 
So on my way there today, I ran into my friend and neighbor, Chris, and saw he was about to dispose of a bike.  I told him about the program, so each of us brought in a bike.  The program doesn't have a web site, but you can email them at readtoride@nf.aibn.com .  Basically, just drop your old bikes off at the convenience store.

Last Green Drinks, conversation veered into re-using pasta sauce jars.  For quite a while, I've been cleaning them up and using them for all kinds of purposes, like storing bulk foods.
 
However, as useful as they are, the empty jars can start to pile up, but again, I didn't want to throw them away.  Last week, I was at the Railway Coastal Museum and noticed they're collecting them for the Lantern Festival.  Then after a wee bit of googling, I learned the whole festival is collecting them.  So quit your trashing or your hording and drop off those bad boys!

We're a month away from our trip to the Tree of Life on July 19th.  The people there have confirmed the date with us.  Check out the specifics on the facebook event.  Most will be spending the night, but that's not strictly necessary.  However, we do need an RSVP.  It should be a great time. 

July Green Drinks is a week and a half after that.