Lisa Jeffries Nobling – Raleigh, NC

Category: Green

  • Team No Waste

    Today’s breakfast/lunch (truly brunch without the boozy drinks) combo I whipped up in my small but mighty kitchen here in Antibes inspired this post. I used leftover bread from last night’s dinner as the base; layered in leftover sauteed Brussels sprouts, a few slices of mozzarella cheese, and frozen spinach; and topped with four eggs scrambled with about a half cup of water and voila — I have brunchy goodness that’ll be easily re-heated for the next several days and not an ounce of waste in sight.

    That’s got to be one of the best habits I’ve picked up living here in the South of France: just how little food I’m throwing away on a regular basis. Back in the States, it’s pretty normal for us to hit the grocery store about every week to 10 days, spend $100+ with the best of intentions of cooking a ton of meals at home, and then inevitable, every two weeks or so… I’m cleaning out the refrigerator and throwing a solid chunk of that $100 into a trash bag.

    Here in Antibes, the refrigerator in my apartment is the size of most dorm room units, and I’m also only cooking for one. I also have the better part of six+ grocery stores and markets within walking distance and a farmers market two blocks from home that’s open every day from 6:00 a.m. until 1 p.m. So I’m buying fresh items, every two or three days, and making the most of them. I’ve thrown away so little while I’m here and hope this is a habit I can stick with when I return home in May. The only complication is that it might mean more occasional trips to the grocery store, which is not nearly convenient at home as it has been here.

    Speaking of the grocery shopping aspect: I do a pretty solid job of utilizing both Lowes Foods and Harris Teeter’s online ordering services, though… so I think I can easily maximize the return on the $4.99 convenience fee charged AND save the time of having to actually shop in the store, too. I’v also been stalking the inventory of RelayFoods.com and am constantly drooling over their selection, so I see a lot more of that in my future, too. I think the saved cost of not throwing away so much of our inventory week after week will well make up for any additional costs in my convenience shopping ways.

  • So Many Options this Weekend

    The only problem will be finding time for them all!

    Retail, etc.

    SmartMomma Grand Opening (in their new location!)
    Saturday – 9/25 – 10:00am until 6:00pm
    http://smartmomma.com/Locations-Raleigh-NC-sp-6.html
    First 100 families to arrive are getting a nice free gift, which may or may not include a VERY nice discount from SmartMomma’s neighbors at Fred’s Beds. Just throwing that out there… 😉

    Downtown Designers Market (is back!)
    Saturday – 9/25 – 9:00am until 3:00pm
    http://www.designersdowntownmarket.com/
    Jewelry, crafts, apparel, and other fab vendors in the Ornamentea parking lot!

    The Green Chair Project Fall Furnishings Drive
    Saturday – 9/25 – 9:00am until 1:00pm
    http://blogs.newsobserver.com/greenscene/green-chair-project-holds-fall-furniture-drive
    http://www.thegreenchair.org/
    Got stuff? Donate it to keep it out of landfills – and help those who need it!

    Festivals

    Ray Price Capital City Bike Fest
    Friday and Saturday – 9/24 and 9/25 – 10:00am until 10:00pm
    http://CapitalCityBikeFest.com/
    I don’t personally “ride”, but my family and LOTS of friends do… so I’m always game for going along for partaking in the sights, food, and fun.

    Hillsborough Street Reopening
    Saturday – 9/25 – 1:00pm until 10:00pm
    http://hillsboroughstreet.org/event/
    http://www.technicianonline.com/news/campus-buffer-to-get-proper-reopening-1.2337841
    In true Raleigh fashion, let’s close a street to traffic to celebrate it being re-opened to traffic. (It’s what we do.)

    Triangle Uncorked
    Saturday – 9/25 – 2:00pm until 6:00pm
    http://www.triangleuncorked.com/
    Wine tasting event benefiting the Frankie Lemmon Foundation and Rotary!

  • Lots of Options Tonight!

    Yay, it’s First Friday again!

    Music on the Porch at Seaboard Station
    http://musicontheporch.com/

    Laura Ridgeway and The Livewires will be playing for us this Friday June 4th.

    (And yes, this is a first Friday so we have bounce rooms again.)

    Laura Ridgeway and The Livewires want you to come out to relax, have fun, and dance, dance, dance (if you want to) – this seasoned troupe of musicians will cross the gamut of swing, upbeat jazz standards, blues, Latin, and oldies pop (Stevie Wonder, etc. and lots of stuff that grooves)………everything is danceable, tail-waggin’, foot-tappin’, family-oriented fun. Laura is one of our local musicians out of Cameron Park.

    Save the Neuse Campaign Kick-Off with SweetWater Brewery (and Old Habits) at the Pour House
    http://savetheneuse.com/

    Come out to The Pour House of Raleigh this Friday, June 4th, to help SweetWater Brewing Company kick start its campaign to SAVE THE NEUSE. Swift Creek Revival will open up for Raleigh favorites Old Habits. Ticket sales go to the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation.

    We’ll also be raffling off some gifts that were graciously donated by our Participating Accounts. Please check them out and support them. They are doing a great service by participating.

    Grassroots Opening of the new Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater
    http://www.raleighconvention.com/amphitheater/

    You’re invited to the Raleigh Amphitheater’s Grassroots Grand Opening: Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Raleigh Music from 5 pm-11 pm on Friday, June 4. Admission is FREE!

    Event Schedule
    5:20 to 5:50 – Th’ Bullfrog Willard Mcgee
    6:00 to 6:25 – The Small Ponds
    6:45 to 7:10 – Sleep Control
    7:30 to 7:55 – Old Avenue
    8:15 to 8:40 – Mosadi Music
    9:00 to 9:35 – I Was Totally Destroying It
    9:55 to 10:55 – The Connells

    Conservation Meet-Up at Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern
    http://www.huntersoakcity.com/ | http://www.triangleland.org/

    After (or before) stopping at the Mahler Gallery reception, head one block north on Fayetteville Street to join Triangle Land Conservancy staff for a conservation meet-up at Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern (112 Fayetteville Street) from 6 to 8:30. Thanks to Isaac Hunter’s for offering the space, and to Conservation Trust for NC for inviting us to be part of it.

  • eCycling

    Electronics are probably some of the nastiest things that could end up in a landfill, so if you need to get rid of anything, here’s a great *free* opportunity from Fox 50 and Creative Recycling to do so!

    Our landfills are filling up with things that won’t ever go away. Specifically, old, outdated electronic equipment which take up space and pose a hazard to our environments.

    That’s why FOX50 created “E-Cycling” Day:
    Saturday, June 27th from 10am – 2pm at all 3 locations.

    Come out and see us – rain or shine – in the parking lots of three Best Buy locations:

    * Durham – Renaissance Center
    (7001 Fayetteville Rd, Durham, NC 27713)

    * North Raleigh – Capital Blvd.
    (6101 Capital Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27616)

    * Cary – Crossroads Plaza
    (237 Crossroads Blvd, Cary, NC 27518)

    It’s so convenient. You won’t even have to get out of your car! Volunteers will unload your electronic items

    And there’s countless number of electronic items you can drop off.

    Equipment Accepted    : All electronic equipment is acceptable with the exception of manifested hazardous waste, radioactive waste and/or biohazardous waste.


    Read the full info and see the list of what’s ok and not ok to bring here!

    Please pass this along or encourage your local media and Best Buy to model something in your area after this program!

  • FYI: Our Beautiful Green State Gets Greener

    From the City of Raleigh’s eNewsletter:

    NEW STATE LAW PROMOTES RECYCLING OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

    A new state law will ban plastic bottles from trash cans beginning Oct. 1. The intent of the law is to encourage people to recycle the plastic bottles.

    “This is a wonderful piece of legislation,” Linda Leighton, waste reduction specialist for the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department, said of the new law. “A great number of our residents would willingly comply and keep plastic bottles out of the landfill, if we make them aware of the new law.”

    Ms. Leighton pointed out that since 1991 it has been illegal to put aluminum cans in the trash.

    Currently the average Raleigh resident recycles 321 pounds each year. The goal of the City’s Solid Waste Department is to increase that number to 451 pounds per year by 2012, Ms. Leighton said. The ban on placing plastic bottles in the trash should help.

    In addition to plastic bottles, the City of Raleigh’s curbside recycling program collects:

    * newspapers and all inserts;
    * magazines and catalogs;
    * white paper, including junk mail;
    * corrugated cardboard;
    * paperboard, chipboard and paper tubes;
    * steel food cans;
    * aluminum beverage cans;
    * aluminum foil and trays that are free of food debris;
    * plastic beverage rings;
    * glass food and beverage containers;
    * gable top cartons; and,
    * aseptic (drink) boxes.
    These items — along with ink jet and toner cartridges and cell phones without accessories — can also be taken to any of the City’s seven recycling drop-off centers. Unless otherwise noted, the drop-off centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    The recycling drop-off centers in Raleigh are located at:


    * Jaycee Park, 2405 Wade Ave,;
    * Mini City Shopping Center, 4510 Capital Blvd, behind the Taco Bell and adjacent to Food Lion;
    * Solid Waste Services Administrative Office at 400 W. Peace St. (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday only);
    * Brennan Station Shopping Center at the intersection of Creedmoor and Strickland roads. The drop-off center is located behind the shopping center off of Brennan Drive. Follow the large white water tower;
    * City of Raleigh Yard Waste Center, 900 N. New Hope Road (open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. only);
    * Sam’s Wholesale Club, 2537 S. Saunders St.; and,
    * Habitat Wake ReStore at 2420 Raleigh Blvd (open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays).
    For more information about the City of Raleigh’s recycling programs, including how to obtain a recycling bin or order an additional bin, contact the City’s Solid Waste Services Department at 996-6890 or visit the City’s website at www.raleighnc.gov/recycling.

  • For My Green Thumb Readers…

    I’ve noticed many of you (with blogs that I read… drop me a comment if you’ve been lurking and we haven’t connected yet) have mentioned starting up your own backyard produce farms and/or gardens, so I thought I’d pass along some great tips from yesterday’s Toxic Free NC Spring 2009 email newsletter.


    Organic Gardening from Scratch

    Here are a few tips for starting a new garden from Toxic Free NC and Tom Mekus, owner of Native Elements Landscaping in Raleigh.

    Plan for too little (and too much) water
    Keeping your garden within a hose’s length of an outdoor tap is always a good idea, but it’s also wise to consider installing a rain barrel. Just one-quarter inch of rain onto a 300-square-foot section of roof can yield nearly 50 gallons of water!

    Resources for gardeners
    Free soil testing by the NC Dept. of Agriculture
    Call your County Extension office for more info, or visit http://www.agr.state.nc.us

    All about composting from the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources www.p2pays.org/compost/
    919-715-6500

    I thought I’d just pass along some tips that were maintenance related, since many of you have already started (and posted) some of your great results. Be sure to read the full post for some even better all-around tips.

    Want to make your own rain barrel? That’s definitely something I’m going to be tackling this summer… especially after previous summer droughts here in central NC.

    Here are some links with how-to guides:

    From the EPA – Build Your Own Rain Barrel (pdf)
    YouTube – How to Build a Rain Barrel (video)
    YouTube – How to (On the Cheap) (video)    Get creative! Add a screen to keep out leaves, etc., add a monogram (for the particularly preppy garden), whatever floats your boat… knock yourself out. (As pictured above, I’m not above putting a monogram or some cute embellishments on a rain barrel!)

    {Images: Clockwise from Top Left – Zedomax, River Falls Rain Barrel Program, This Old House, Arlington Village Green Team. Embellishments by yours truly.}

  • The Good Stuff

    Because my posts about booze, tailgating, and the like always get the most attention, I know you all will enjoy this budget-saving tidbit.

    Courtesy of local retail queen – Sue Stock – this is a mail-in rebate that basically hooks you up with… you guessed it… free vodka! And not just any vodka, but good for the earth vodka (billed as “the world’s first eco luxury vodka”)!

    It’s distilled by a company called “Earth Friendly Distilling Vodka, Co.” out of Missouri (yes, I had to Google it to make sure MO was in fact Missouri – don’t laugh).

    Read Sue’s whole post here and print off your mail-in rebate!

    As Sue mentioned, the fine print doesn’t include NC in the ineligible states, but the biggest obstacle is whether or not it has been approved by the state and county boards for distribution here… guess we’ll find out (or at least I will find out)!

    {Image: Vodka360.com}

  • A Different Green Post

    Here’s a totally different green post for you – as in St. Patty’s green!

    I enjoy the holiday and the debauchery that goes along with it, but I’ve been consistently sick the last few weeks so I didn’t do too much… well, other than celebrate my younger sister’s 21st birthday (which by the way, still blows my mind that it’s now legal for her to shop at the ABC store). I’ll have to dedicate a separate post to that momentous occasion later.

    However, just because the parties from last weekend and Tuesday have passed… there’s more this weekend since last weekend had a bit (downpour) of rain.

    Raleigh’s St. Patrick’s parade is today at noon – Downtown.

    For those of you who are thrilled by the idea of Irish-themed events all year long… I guess this is my Merry March Christmas gift for you – a website and email list devoted to those local event (RaleighStPats.org).

  • Local Job Opening

    This isn’t my typical blog post, but this isn’t your typical job opening either. This sounds like it would be a really fun and rewarding job.

    Please pass this along to anyone who may be interested.

    Open job position from SEEDS (1998 NC Peace Prize winner)
    From Lucy Harris, SEEDS Executive Director,
    706 Gilbert Street, Durham, NC 27701
    919.683.1197
    www.seedsnc.org

    SEEDS is hiring a co-coordinator for Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) to start in March 2009.

    Come join our multi-generational team of youth and adults working together to increase food justice in our community by:
    -Growing healthy, sustainable food on a 1/4 acre lot in northeast central Durham
    -Selling it at the Durham Farmer’s Market every Saturday
    -Learning about the importance of food and sustainability
    -Cultivating self-confidence, inter-dependence, solid community, and a strong value for all life
    -Primary responsibilities would be:
    -Sharing knowledge of sustainable gardening, cooking, and healthy living with youth;
    -Program development;
    -Youth leadership training;
    -Working with volunteers;
    -Garden stewardship

    Required Skills:
    -Experience working with youth, especially in leadership development;
    -Some gardening experience;
    -Creative problem solving and conflict resolution skills;
    -Ability and interest in doing physical labor;
    -Commitment to social, economic, and environmental justice;
    -Ability to work well with a multi-racial, intergenerational staff and desire to interact with a wide range of people
    -Flexible schedule, driver’s license, sense of humor and the ability to think on your toes

    Strongly recommended:
    -An understanding of and interest in food systems and food politics;
    -Cooking skills;
    -Carpentry skills;
    -Creative self-expression;
    -Morning person

    We encourage applicants to get a feel for the position by volunteering during a Saturday work day.

    Starting salary $12/hour + paid sick, vacation, and holidays
    Average of 28 hours/week including Saturdays

    Job starts mid-March

    Interested parties should send a cover letter and resume to Lucy Harris, lharris@seedsnc.org, or 706 Gilbert St, Durham, NC 27701.

    SEEDS is a non-profit community garden whose goal is to teach people to care for the earth, themselves and each other through a variety of garden-based programs.

    The Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) program is a youth-driven, urban farming leadership development program. DIG empowers teens by teaching organic gardening, sound business practices, healthy food choices and food security values. The program emphasizes sustainable living and growing practices, ecological balance, and the natural recycling of organic materials for plant health and nourishment. DIG youth are paid a stipend to cultivate fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and mushrooms, which they then sell at the Durham Farmer’s Market.

    Today’s beautiful local weather should definitely encourage some good applications for this position – plus, just think about all the amazing things you’d learn about in this position. I’ve never heard of this before seeing this posting come across the Chix email list, but now I’d love to volunteer sometime.

  • E-Waste Recycling Event at NCSU

    I would to credit this to the source where I saw it first, but I can’t remember where I saw it (a green blog, something NCSU, who knows)!

    E-Waste Recycling Event

    What can be recycled?
    Pretty much anything you can plug in!

    *Computers – CPU’s and laptops, main frames, peripherals
    *Monitors – CRT’s and flat screens
    *Telephones, Cell phones and Telephone systems
    *Fax Machines and Central Office Equipment
    *Printers and Copiers
    *Banking and Financial Equipment
    *Medical Equipment
    *Rechargeable batteries
    *Electronic Circuit boards and components
    *Stereo Equipment, Games, PDA’s
    *Televisions (There is a $5 fee per television)

    Location: Centennial Campus
    Directions: Main Campus Drive between Monteith Eng. Research Center & Corporate Research 1

    Date: March 11th
    Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

    Sponsored by: Synergy Recycling L.L.C., NCSU Waste Reduction and Recycling, S.E.E. NCSU


    For more information, email recycling@ncsu.edu or check out the online event PDF (which includes all the information I posted here, but in a pretty flyer).