As a reformed North Carolina loyalist, I recognize the ability to take amazing day trips as one of the amazing perks of this great state.  One example of the perfect day getaway is Pittsboro, which I took my dear friend Sara to visit while she last visited the Triangle.  It is a cheery gem of Chatham County thriving with personality and charm.

Oh, Pittsboro, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:

1. Locally-owned storefronts.  I found tons of nutty antiques and second-hand stuff, like at Oldies But Goodies.  French Connections also amused us with tons of unique new items, much of which were unfortunately made in India or China.  These were just the beginning…
2. Local craftsmen and artisans.  Like Vespertine, an inspirational and happy store with an amazing woman (Ginna) who owns it, runs it, and creates products for it!  Sara bought the cutest glass sculpturette by Leslie Fesperman and Ginna from here!  Lots of locally-made herbal soaps, fun jewelry, unique stationary, and more live here too.
3. Quirk galore.  Pittsboro = quirk.
4. Cats in windows.  Sara and I loved the cat here!
5. Locally-grown foods and co-ops.  We grabbed a DELICIOUS lunch at Chatham Marketplace restaurant!  I have previously visited General Store Cafe as well, and highly recommend it.

If you are located in the Peidmont of NC, particularly central or so, consider taking a day trip to Pittsboro.  Be forewarned:  going mid-week insures that some of the great storefronts will be closed, so consider a Saturday for the full lineup.  Pittsboro is known as well for plenty of great festivals.  The residents and history are rich, the downtown quaint yet ahead of the game.

If you are on twitter, check out ChathamNC, ChathamMarket and the Pittsboro Convention Visitors Bureau too.

(Side note: please pardon the truly horrid cellphone pics. WHY did I not take real photos that day?!)

I should plan another trip to Pittsboro…

Until then, sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

Our Pittsboro Cheat-Sheet:

Eating:

Chatham Marketplace, www.chathammarketplace.coop, 480 Hillsboro St, 919.542.2643

General Store Cafe, www.thegeneralstorecafe.com, 39 West St, 919.542.2432

Locally-made:

Vespertine, www.vespertinecafe.com or www.ginnae.etsy.com, 64 Hillsboro St, 919.356.6825

Joyful Jewel, www.joyfuljewel.com, 919.545.6836

Bizu, 18 E. Salisbury St, 919.545.9255

Quirky:

Unity Books & Stuff, www.unitybooksandstuff.com, 80 Hillsboro St, 919.545.0619

New Herizons Trading Company, www.newhorizonstrading.com, 52 Hillsboro St, 919.542.7366

Chatham Habitat for Humanity Home Stores, www.chathamhabitat.org, 467 West St, 919.542.0788

French Connections, www.french-nc.com, 178 Hillsboro St, 919.545.9296

Oldies But Goodies Collectibles, 106 Hillsboro St, 919.542.1126

Have a blast!

A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader.  With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!

A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet.  I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.

So how do you win?

1.)  Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way.  You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch?  A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.

Me?  I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink.  Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink.  Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!

2.)  Want a second way to enter?  Twitter fans have the advantage here.  All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):

Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!

Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.

One comment on being green = one chance.

One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.

I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS.  Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.

Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation.  Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received.  Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)

My hometown newspaper covered a hummingbird catch-and-release story back in August, talking about how hummingbirds are being banded for research, adopted by general public individuals, and released.

Courtesy of Catawba County Parks via Hickory Daily Record

What fascinated me is that these tiny little creatures, who’s wings move so quickly that we generally cannot see them, are much quicker than I even imagined.  The Hickory Daily Record story says that one bird, captured and banded last year, was recaptured and reported in Texas only 12 days later, averaging 89 miles a day.

Also, many of the birds have been documented as coming to the same park the same day, year after year.  Interesting.

That is crazy!

I am not sure exactly how I feel about capturing and banding hummingbirds at all, but I know I am for research and projects that promote and lead to conservancy.

On that note, check out the comments after the story to see many perspectives on both sides of the boundary.  You also get to see how many people think $20 to hold a hummingbird is a rip-off, though I think it should cost more than that.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Not literal rockstars, but Larry’s Beans Coffee is pretty close to stardom, and they are a crown jewel in the Triangle’s hip and green market.  Yesterday,  I noticed a full-time job opening at Larry’s Beans as an Account Manager.

Larry’s Beans coffee is organic, fair trade, kosher and a plethora of other fantastic certifications.  The beans are roasted here, they have a cool bus, and their coffee is as awesome tasting as their names are fantastically whimsical. Seriously, who can pass up a cup of “El Salvador Dali”, “Bean Martin”, “Frank Sumatra”, or my favorites, the “3 Moon Peru” and their holiday blends.

These coffee addicts and self-proclaimed fair trade mavericks are one of my favorite coffee brands, period.  Add to that their sustainability school, and you can see why I love this company.

By now you should be sold on why this company would be great to work with, but just in case, look at the awesome Rock Star characters you would work with in this small, kickbutt company.

So, if you feel like you could get stoked to be a full-time ambassador of fair trade, sustainable company ethic and coffee, click here to get a better look at the job and how to apply.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

At the 2009 N.C. State Fair, I had the completely, unabashed, enchanting pleasure during the Deep-Fried Tweetup to meet Steve Trash, who needs our vote for President Obama’s Green Job Czar.

Steve Trash is my new Enviro-hero in addition to being a comedian and magician.  Yes, an Eco-minded Magician and Comedian, but Steve is no joke (though he is a complete kook!).

I have wondered about illusionists and magic since I was a mere child, always fascinated with David Copperfield and, in more recent years, Chris Angel.  All I can help but wonder is, are these guys for real?

I saw Chris Angel take a woman and her friends right off the sidewalk, take her necklace (an heirloom from her Grandma), take a hammer to it and break it up (putting the woman in tears), place the fragments in her hand and tell her to squeeze it really tight, and when she opened her hand, she seemed genuinely shocked to pull it out in absolutely perfect condition.

I thought… wow.  I wish I were that chic.  I want to have the experience personally so I know I am stumped as to the magic.

Enter Steve Trash at the Deep-Fried Tweetup at the N.C. State Fair.

He had a few cube-shaped sponges, about two inches cubed.  He placed one in my hand, another woman had one, and Steve had one.

I kind of rolled the sponge around and looked at it, just checking it out.  Just a little squooshy sponge, you know.  He told me to squeeze it really tightly in my fist.  I obliged happily, even noticing that a smidge of it was peeking out between my pinky and palm, and I poked it back in.

The other woman, Linda, also squeezed hers, and Steve squeezed his tight.  I watched this happen.

Then, Linda opened her hand… her sponge still stood sweetly in her hand.

Steve opened his hand (by the way, never moved his hands around, no sleeves, etc… trust me, I was watching for that); no sponge.  Then Steve told me to open my hand.

“I can’t!” I replied.  He assured me I can, to which I replied, “No, I can’t!  I’m scared!”

The little child in me was desperate to find both his sponge and mine, shockingly together in my hand.  The adult me prayed I would find only one sponge, joyfully sitting open in my palm, and the world could continue to make sense.

I held my breath and pried my fingers open, and…

I literally screamed!  Then I continued to squeal and nervously giggle.  I began to jump up and down!  Both sponges were in my hand.  I felt as if I had somehow blacked out and it had been planted.  That is the only scenario where these things happen without any knowledge or recollection, right?!

Steve laughed and said this is why he does magic:  magic makes people happy!

Are you curious why I tell you about Steve Trash, the magician?

All of his props are previous trash and recycled goods.  Things he finds, sometimes not even knowing what they previously were used for (”What is that?  A googles lens?  I toy submarine window?  I don’t know.”), and finds ways to incorporate them into his act.

Plus, he uses magic as a fun way to teach kids, and apparently the kids inside of us adults, about recycling and eco-responsibility!

I just adore Steve Trash, and if you want to know more about him, you can check out this awesome article on him, as well as his website.  Cool as he is, it should be no shock he is also on Twitter, Facebook, other Facebook, and Vimeo (think YouTube).

Steve, you have my vote!  I am writing President Obama now!

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

On October 8, 2009, North Carolina found itself amidst two conflicting news stories of a national caliber regarding technology manufacturing:

DELL is laying off 905 employees by January 2010.  Boo.

CREE is creating nearly 600 jobs in the green tech LED industry.  Yay!

On Wednesday, DELL announced they are closing the North Carolina plant in Winston Salem, laying off around 600 employees in November and retaining the last 300 employees until January 2010.

Well, a huge happy holidays to you and yours, courtesy of DELL.

For the record, I want to say how opposed I was about granting DELL any tax breaks, grants, and incentives back in 2005 when North Carolina leaned over and kissed their shiny hineys in order to get the plant here.  Not that “I told you so” ever does any good, but I cannot help myself.

So, here we are, four years and two days after it opens, and they announce they are closing down and leaving a thousand families without income and burdening NC with more than $3 million added in unemployment spendings.

DELL says they will repay everything paid to them by the state of North Carolina.  Hmmm… did Exxon not say the same thing 20 years ago regarding the Valdez?

On the other hand, Thursday afternoon, CREE (LED Technology) held a planned press conference to announce the creation of 275 North Carolina jobs before the end of 2009, and another 300 jobs by the end of 2012.

Yes, friends, that means North Carolina company CREE is manufacturing LED technology right here in our state, creating 575 jobs.  Durham, yet another score for you!

Why do I support CREE?  The North Carolina-based company has impressed me with their commitment to such a huge environmental undertaking from the beginning.  Add to that how North Carolina State University has a role in CREE technology (a personal victory! They are so underrated), not to mention how our state, at 11% unemployment, needs a company who will invest in the educated and eager workforce in our state.

I support CREE because LED is significantly superior to CFL, which is known as the energy-friendly choice among mainstream America.

• One LED lasts 50,000 hours and consume only 500 kilowatt hours in the course of its life.  That would take 10 CFLs.  Plus, trust me, I am simplifying the numerous benefits of LED.
• LED lights are bright, are infinitely more reliable and warmer looking than the CFL bulbs currently living in my home.  The LEDs give a true color, unlike what I get to experience now.
• One LED can cost only $.16 a year to operate in your home — that is 16 cents!  Thus, the initial cost may be higher than CFL or incandescent bulbs, but the savings far outweigh the initial cost difference.
• LED bulbs are far more robust than CFL or incandescent bulbs.  This even leaves out the fact that CFL bulbs contain mercury.

Bora and I were able to talk with CREE CEO Chuck Swoboda, Social Media Specialist Ginny Skalski, and Product Marketing Specialist Kyle Rogers.  Here, Rogers walks us through a few of CREE’s current major products, as well as discusses with us a few future products for residential use.

If somehow are are asking yourself what LED and CFL light bulbs are, I wonder how you have missed that incandescent bulbs emit 80% or more energy on creating heat, thus creating an issue where you spend more money creating heat in your home than light, and then you have the costs of increasing air-cooling methods to counteract the heat in our sweltering NC summers.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

For raw clips of the press conference with CREE CEO Chuck Swoboda and Governor Beverly Perdue, you can watch:
Part 1 (CEO Chuck Swoboda introducing CREE and green jobs announcement)
Part 2 (Governor Beverly Perdue)
Part 3 (CEO Chuck Swoboda talking LED as our future)

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has a hunting trip planned for first-time and beginning women hunters.

Ten women will spend two days (October 23 and 24) in North Hampton County.  $135 includes your food, lodging, and an experienced guide to help you get used to hunting, all while building possible friendships with other women exploring the arena also.

If you are not familiar with hunters at all, you may be surprised by the women in the field.  They are not 230 lbs. women with bad perms and a love of roadkill.  I learned from my NC Hunter Safety Training Course that in hunting, stereotypes need NOT apply.  Just check out these women hunters.

More women hunting resources:

• Women Hunters
• Hunting Magazine for Women: The Woman Hunter
• Camp Wild Girls
• Shoot Like A Girl
• Prois Hunting: Take Pride in NOT being one of the guys
• Women’s Outdoor News

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Welcome to the 2009 North Carolina State Fair, with a new Deep Fried theme (yum) and the second annual Green NC exhibit!

In eight days, Raleigh will host the Deep Fried State Fair.  I personally love the tasty, indulgent, artery-clogging, sizzling hot fun of this year’s theme.  Frankly, they found a way to make our deep-fried Southern reputation and make it kinda hip (instead of the hokey themes of years past).

OurHashtag even got the NC State Fair into super-hip mode by getting an NC State Fair Deep-Fried Tweetup rocking on October 22nd.  I expect to see you there.  Really, can you pass this up?  Western NC needs to make the trip to meet and greet with other Tweeple from across the state.  This will be an awesome Tweetup experience!  Get your free ticket here!

I actually found the Green NC information while surfing the N.C. Deep Fried State Fair on MySpace blog.  There I learned about the Confessions from the Green NC Exhibit and am excited to see how it grows this year.  Check out the official Green NC Exhibit website for a preview of what we will see.  On top of great exhibitors, we can expect an increased recycling effort, care to storm water, and LED lights to green up our fair.

For the full up-to-date NC State Fair info, check their deep fried blog, Facebook page, YouTube, and Twitter.

See you at the NC State Fair and Deep Fried Tweetup…

And will cover the Green Efforts!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I have to revive the garbage disposal controversy, as spawned a year and a half ago when Raleigh, NC government banned garbage disposals in homes (and quickly caved under scrutiny from lazy, self-absorbed, financially-influential people who worship their disposals).

A while back, I saw this great article by Raleigh Eco News regarding how “the quality of Falls Lake — Raleigh’s main water supply — is suffering while officials with the power to do something are failing to act”.

Reading it reminded me how ill I am that Raleigh renegged on their garbage disposal ban.

Why do I feel they should be banned?  Well, I do not feel like these sorts of kitchen scraps belong washed down our drain.  Besides killing your plumbing (yes, most of the people I know have to get their disposal repaired or unclogged, which we have never done since we toss our scraps), composting is the optimal option.

Despite Insinkerator’s claims of using the disposal being “green”, I have interesting consensus that it is the worst, most financially costly, most energy and environmentally-inefficient choice.  You pay the plumber, we all pay in higher taxes to come as the burden grows, and the natural waterways pay.

Plus, I see all the time that people who rely on their garbage disposal (usually absent-mindedly even) also are regulars at pouring grease and cooking juices down their drain, which is actually illegal in many states because of pollution.  Don’t believe that many people feel that way?  Just look at this one forum and how people tug-of-war over being able to.

Next time you have potatoes and squash to peel, grease to empty, and plates to scrape off, head to your compost bin or trash bag.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Summer is winding down (technically gone), and thus I realize I must transition away from my trusty SIGG bottle and a favorite summer treat ~ real tomatoes.

Yes, that means that all my tasty garden-grown tomato sandwiches are coming to an end for this year.  Marc and I learned several years ago that store-bought tomatoes are always grainy and flavorless in comparison to the beauty and vivacious taste of real garden-grown tomatoes.  We do not have a garden, but lucky for us, my sister and her husband have a thriving beautiful garden, and Marc’s Mom always has fantastic tomatoes.  We are happy to have a supply on both sides.

I also finally took my SIGG bottle, one I bought early summer of 2008, back to REI.  If you are not familiar with REI, they are an amazing company (co-op) that stands 100% behind every single product they sell.

I spent plenty of time sulking since Steve Wasik’s admission of BPA in pre-August 2008 SIGG bottles.  My bottle and I mourned our relationship having to move on, as we both agreed SIGG should have to replace every single bottle they lied about which they put in trusting consumers’ hands.

Yesterday, however, my bottle and I decided it was a time to celebrate the journeys we have taken together as well as new journeys to come.

Yes, my bottle and I are in a relationship, and the next leg of my journey will be with some other bottle, and the next leg of its journey will be as it joins thousands of other SIGG bottles to be recycled into something new.  Perhaps one day, we will meet again.

So, cheers to what we once had in our lives, cheers to letting go with openness and love, and cheers to taking joy from our pasts to move boldly into new futures.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

*PS. Asheville friends, I just found out that Greenlife Grocer will replace your SIGG bottles for one with the new EcoCare liner for free, and regardless of whether or not you bought yours there!  No other store in Asheville is doing that (to my knowledge)!