Notes on January

I am in disbelief this is my first post in January. See, bosses? I have been working at work. I really don't just putter around on the internet.

As for work, the campaign my job supports on Sakhalin Island against a Shell gas and oil project just had a massive (300+ participant) blockade of the hugest ever LNG plant in the world.

As for school, I'm back at the math thing. I am doing "intermediate" algebra which is so far review of "elementary." The new version of the open lab course I'm taking (sans instructor, plus computer) is a breeze. I hope. Either it's a breeze or I'm failing massively.

I went into the community college (Laney) today to get my student ID, and on the way up in the elevator I noticed that listed among the departments on that floor was "Vending Machine Refunds." It's a humble college, but what customer service!

My city, Oakland, has sucky sucky thrift shopping, I just rediscovered. I can't believe how very picked over the shops are. And the prices they ask for the filthy broken crapola that's left behind! I have to go to the 'burbs to do some good thrifting.

As for my neighborhood, Lake Merritt, Oakland, I've been traumatized by all the tree removal permits (fluttering an angry red in the wind, stapled to every tree along my daily walk to BART since mid-December). There has only been one drunken crying tree-hugging incident so far. I went on a couple "tree walks" held by Oakland's Public Works Agency, and got some faith in the process as they explained it. I still wrote my protest letter asking they try to preserve the lives of the 15 (beautiful, healthy) magnolias lining the approach to the 12th Street pedestrian tunnel. I don't know what possible good it could have done, but I had to say my say-so.

As for my home life, my favorite products keep being discontinued, forcing me to new heights of creativity. Last year EO discontinued a wonderful lavender-honey body scrub and then repackaged it in a container half the size and doubled the price. So, today I put together the five ingredients (why did it take me this long?) and it makes a perfectly passable substitute for the $4-an-ounce version they are trying to sell. Honey + kaolin clay + fine-ground brown rice + lavender oil + glycerin. Try it!

My first batch was made with this recipe:

2 T kaolin clay
1 T organic brown rice meal (long grain, fine ground in a coffee grinder)
2 t organic orange blossom honey
1/2 t glycerin (a liquid skin protectant/ soap)
5-7 drops lavender (lavendula officinalis) essential oil
1 drop eucalyptus oil
1 drop rose oil

I will probably play with the mix of oils in my next batch. Maybe another kind of lavender oil.

I'll try to remember to post my recipe to deal with the disappearance of the mucho delicioso frozen ginger-butter-carrot-almond mixture from Trader Joe's shelves.