I didn't leave the house today.
Why not have take a break from the car, even for just one day?
I spent part of the afternoon researching bicycles. Sweets and I decided our birthday presents this year will be bikes. I'm hoping I can find a job near enough to home that I can bike to work. I started working when I was 13 and biked to all my jobs until I reluctantly got a car when I was 17. My mother wanted me to have a car in part to help her get to where she needed to be. Once I got that car, I stopped riding my bike. When I moved out two years later, I did not take it with me. Although biking to work was sometimes a pain ( like the two times I had run ins with cars-ouch) for the most part my memories are fond of that time. Growing up near an ocean and a river, invariably I'd smell one of them as I rode to one of the seaside towns I worked in. Sometimes after work, I'd bike with friends for ice cream or more adventures. I miss those days. I still think ice cream and adventures are some of the best bits of life.
Now we're on the hunt for a pair of foldable bikes so we can stow and travel with them easily. Right now, I'm flirting with this model called Ciao by Dahon. Sweets took a shine to the Glide. We're going to have to track down a dealer to take some test drives.
While I spent the day at home, not consuming gasoline, I made use of the time. I worked on a letter to a friend. I whipped up some goodies from items in the pantry. An Indian feast for dinner- red lentil dal, palak paneer, basmati rice and rotis. For future breakfasts, I made the granola in this month's Everyday Food. I substituted raisins for dried blueberries and sprinkled on a bit of salt and pumpkin pie spice after it came out of the oven. Then I made some tortellini for Sweets to take to work for lunch.
I tried to spend the day using what I have, caring for what I've already got, recycling, composting and prepping things I no longer need for donation.
I also spent some time watching the rain nourish the garden and our neighborhood. I noticed my neighbor's majestic maple is beginning to leaf out and our dogwood is getting very close to blossoming.
There was time for me to reflect on new things to do between this Earth Day and the next to make my load a little bit lighter on it's back.
I hope you spent some time today thinking about your impact on the earth, too.
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