Eco-Friendly ‘Green’ Tires

I just got a new set of summer tires for my car. They’re green. No, not the color but the way they’re made. They’re eco-friendly tires by Nokian.

When I started looking for tires this Spring I had no idea that eco-friendly tires even existed. The concept wasn’t even on my radar. So when I was researching tires to replace my Pirellis, and learned that they had a line of green sports tires, the Pirelli Cinturato, I was excited.

Then my tire shop told me about Nokian, who is entirely green. According to their website, “Nokian Tyres is the world's first tire manufacturer to introduce a production method using earth-friendly oils. Our birch leaf insignia guarantees the complete absence of toxic chemicals.” That was pretty intriguing and definitely fit into my lifestyle of living green.

But to be sure I was making a good decision I spoke with a few tire-savvy friends who shared that they had been riding Nokian’s for a long while, one for over 15 years. They both spoke favorably of Nokian’s performance and handling and highly recommended them.

By running on new Nokian eco-friendly tires, I feel like I’m being a responsible and accountable global citizen. The bonus, is that the high-performance Nokian’s and 17” rims look great on my Saab Convertible. They’re a sweet ride. Go green.

Do You Twitter?

Like so many other technology second adopters, I have finally been caught up in the social media avalanche that has become know as Twitter.

I call myself a technology second adopter because I wasn’t the first wave of online computer pioneers to catch the tweeting bug. I actually waited in the online wings to be sure I could discern the hype from the value before jumping in with both feet.

But now here I am, up to my eyeballs in tweet talk and loving it. To an education junkie and long-time marketer like me, its heaven. An information explosion with countless resources and boatloads of people willing to share what they know. It’s like finding the golden ticket to the chocolate factory and winning a never ending supply of everlasting gob-stoppers.

As the world’s top microblog, Twitter grew 1,382% year-over-year in February 2009 (Nielsen Online) and shows no signs of slowing down. It will be interesting to watch as more main-stream users and businesses jump on board in search of online opportunity through non-conventional channels.

If you’re interested in taking a peek at my peeps and what it’s all about, follow me on Twitter at @dvautier. Now, if only I can figure out how to add the link button.

Lavender Cookies

Yes, you can use lavender in food! Adding a touch of lavender to cakes, lemonade, jellies, and cookies makes for an unexpectedly pleasant tasting surprise. It’s a delicate flavor that smells as good as it tastes.

But when using lavender beware. The old adage that “if a little is good, a lot is better” doesn’t apply here. Too much lavender in foods turns an elegant essence into a sudsy mouthful by making foods taste a bit like hand soap. So go easy on the measuring and enjoy the fresh-from-the-field flavor of lavender.

Here’s a recipe that’s fun to make and share. It’s from The Complete Book of Herbs by Andi Cleavely and Katherine Richmond. Enjoy.

5/8 Cup butter plus more to grease baking sheets

½ Cup granulated sugar

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp dried lavender flowers

1 ½ Cups self-rising flower

Assorted leaves and flowers to decorate

Preheat the oven to 350º. Cream the butter and sugar together, then stir in the egg. Mix in the lavender flowers and the flour.

Grease two cookie sheets and drop spoonfuls of the mixture on them. Bake for about 15–20 minutes, until the cookies are golden. Serve with some fresh leaves and flowers to decorate. Makes about 30.

Hyacinth in Spring

Spring is the only season whose arrival I anticipate with the unbridled enthusiasm of a young girl. I love the healing and moist warmth that follows the long icy-cold winter. I love the promise of summer that it delivers in small incremental doses every day as it melts away the barren white of winter and introduces the lush colors of summer. And most importantly I love the smell.

One of my favorite spring scents is the hyacinth, also known affectionately as “high-a-stinks” by my neighbor Elsa. Their aroma cuts through the stale air of any room, soothing my senses and relaxing my mind.

Before it’s warm enough for them to flower naturally outside, I always get some forced bulbs to add to my office and bedroom. To give them their proper presentation, I put the already budding 4” potted plants in decorative planters and add some Spanish moss around the base.

At work, I place the hyacinth in a location that I can see, touch and smell. It’s a great lift-me-up during the day and reinvigorates me with energy. At home, I place the potted hyacinth on my night table. It’s amazing how just walking into my bedroom and catching a whiff of the aromatic perfume puts me at ease.

It’s a special treat to fall asleep and wake up to the pleasant and healing scent of hyacinth. Purple-blue is my favorite color.

Gourd-ous Gourd Bowls

Gourd crafting has become a great hobby. My initial efforts at making gourd bowls were a bit raw, but I’ve enjoyed the process of learning the craft and trying new things. When I first started making bowls, I used what I had on hand to color the gourds, which was wood stain. I found I could get quite a few different colors from the amount of stain I used and by using more than one application.

I had seen some gourds that had some beautifully rich finishes and wanted to learn more about that. Different colors, rich hues and stunning shine. So I looked into typical finishes for gourds and found that both leather dyes and gourd inks seemed to be the most common finishes used by serious artists. I decided to try gourd ink because it seemed easier to use and clean up. I purchased the ink from Welburn Farms, the same California gourd farm where I purchased some dried gourds.

I also wanted to try my hand at inlaying so I started with inlaying some glass beads in the bowl rims. I used my Dremel tool with a flex shaft which makes it easier to control. I’ve found that inlaying takes great attention to detail and I have to be very present when working on carving out the spaces where the beads will be placed. If I’m not, I tend to mess up and then the bead doesn’t fit snugly without gaps around it.

Here are a few of my most recent pieces. It’s amazing to see how the ink covers the gourd and decides what it wants to look like, with no help from me. The first gourd bowl is inked with sky blue, but the raw colors of the gourd itself made the finish look more like a mottled seafoam green/blue. The exterior was then finished with a coat of spray polyurethane. I left the interior natural with only a mineral oil finish. I like the look and it can be used safely with foods. I placed blue and green beads into the carved out areas around the rim and secured them in place with hot glue, which is transparent when dry.

The other bowl is inked with a medium brown color on the exterior. The hard exterior shell accepts the ink differently than the interior which is more of an exposed surface. So on the interior, I used the medium brown ink but mixed it with varnish. Combining the varnish with the ink makes the ink more closely match the exterior color while also protecting it. Otherwise the ink would be much darker when it covers the rough, exposed surface. The rim of the bowl has amber glass bead inlays. These were also secured in place with hot glue.

I think these gourd bowls are gourd-ous.

The True Harbinger of Spring – the Crocus

Many people think that daffodils herald in the spring season, announcing the warmer weather months with bunches of bright yellow flowers and St. Patty Day green leaves.

In my mind though, the true harbinger of spring is the ever-so-early-arriving crocus. Long before daffodils grow tall and strong enough to support their blooms, the short, colorful crocus pushes its head above the frozen ground to dazzle us with the splendid hues of purple, yellow and cream shaded flowers. You can almost breathe in the colors.

I love to walk out on my back deck, look down, and see the rich green leaves and vibrant flower petals emerge from the winter-warn brown of the lawn. It’s a sure sign that warmer weather is certain to arrive.

Every fall I add a bag or two of bulb plantings right into the lawn in the back yard. And, every year I am rewarded with a few more flowers that add to the spring carpet of color.

Thank Goodness the crocuses have arrived to wipe away the winter doldrums and reinvigorate us with energy and life.

Out of My Gourd

A lot of people have said that I must be out of my gourd, and now I think they’re absolutely right.

I’m exploring a whole new world of crafting with gourds and it’s proving to be a lot of fun. It started when I grew some gourds in my Dad’s garden in 2003. We must have had green thumbs because they really took off. I had no idea they required so much room to grow!

I didn’t do anything with them for the longest time. They just sat in my parents garden shed collecting dust and drying out (as gourds do). When my Mom thought she’d clean out a few things and wanted to throw them away, I finally decided to do something with them.

The first things I made were birdhouses. Different hole sizes for different birds depending on the overall size and shape of the gourds themselves. I drilled some small drain holes in the bottom and added a leather strap for hanging. I painted them with acrylic paint and then a top coat of spray polyurethane so they could be used outdoors. They don’t have perches because I learned that perches actually put the birdhouse inhabitants in danger. They make it easy for larger, more predatory birds to hang out on the perch and attack the birds inside.

When I ran out of my own home-grown gourds, I started buying them from Welburn Farms, a gourd Farm in California. Who knew people grew and sold dirt-encrusted dry gourds? With the gourds I’ve purchased, I’ve started making bowls. I began with low-rim bowls and used a Dremel tool to carve some shapes and lines. My beginner efforts were rather primitive, but that’s what gives them their charm. I used regular wood stain to color the interior and exterior. Like the birdhouses, I coated them with polyurethane for a finish. The poly, once dried, makes them food-safe for dry foods like chips or bread.

I really must be out of my gourd because now I have a bunch of gourds in various stages of completion littering my kitchen and workshop area. I’m finding it rather rewarding though. It’s very creative to figure out what to do with each design, very zen-like because I have to be present and pay attention to what I’m doing when I’m working on them, and very satisfying to end up with a useful piece of primitive artwork that I can use around the house or give as gifts.

Now when people say that I’m out of my gourd, I just say ‘thank you’.