Odds & Ends

I attended a most interesting workshop yesterday. It was the Walking Action Workshop, and I thought it was a grass-roots type thing, but it turned out to have various government (city) agencies, non-profits, and consultants there. I may have been the only one attending just for myself as an individual.  I met some really cool people. It was an interesting experience, because for twenty years, I attended lots of meetings like this only as a state agency representative. Yesterday I could say anything I felt like and didn't have to worry about sticking my foot in some kind of mess.

As it turned out, we were all there for the same reason: figuring out how to make Omaha more of a Walking City. There are myriads of reasons to do this. Economic, health, safety, aesthetics, environmental. It was an intense five hours of learning, brainstorming, discussing and looking forward. However, at the end of the day (and I hate that cliche but here I mean it literally), I left as an individual. I made a contact with a city organization where I might do a little volunteer work but that's not done until it's done, so I came home wondering what I can do.

I tend to get really bizarre, impractical ideas on my own. In the past it was my husband who would listen to me rattle on, a small smile on his face, and then he'd ask gentle, probing questions until I'd realize I had been in lala land again, LOL. I have to talk myself in off those ledges, now. So after going through the first two goofy ideas I had, I finally settled on knowing that all I can do *right now* is just walk, myself. Just get out there and do it. And blog about it! So that's what I'll start out with.
--
Made bread Thursday.

This was one of my own recipes from oh...long time ago. 1979? I keep tweaking it and it keeps getting better. 

--

I've had two of those heavy plastic floor mats with the pointy studs on the underside, that you use to protect carpets and make your desk chair roll easier, lying out in the garage to be disposed of, for months. I've dithered about what to do with them, because I assumed the recycle guys wouldn't take them. But they are far too thick and heavy for me to cut by any method. So there they sat. Finally last week I put one out propped up against the recycle bin, thinking the worst that could happen would be it got left. Well - surprise! They took it! So this week I'll set out the other one. And that success has me itching to get out there and break down all the cardboard boxes and get those out of there, and then I come to those two heavy particleboard doors, the ones from the shed, that have been taking up space in the garage. I need to have someone haul those away. I'll talk to my neighbor to see if he knows a hauler. It's getting to be time to organize the garage better, and get the yard stuff brought out from the shed and the snow stuff stowed back in the shed. I have hopes that someone will come help me identify and organize all the tools that still languish out there due to my being overwhelmed by the scope of the job. And my ignorance.

--

Next weekend I'm going to a free workshop at a local garden center to learn how to put together nice summer container gardens. I want to really dress up my front porch this year. The whole front yard, actually. Get some pretty annuals to fill in the gaps in the perennials in the boomerang. Edge the sidewalks and driveway (hasn't been done in years and it's looking ragged). I love this nice weather. Somebody said we're supposed to get SNOW next week but it's really hard to believe that - but you have to remember this is Nebraska so it could happen. Wouldn't last long, though.