DIY Countertop Compost Crock

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped my Brita water pitcher, the one I've had since college. It was a rather spectacular fall, given that it was full of water at the time I dropped it, and it sprouted an enormous crack which wrapped 2/3 of the way around, and one small hole about the size of an allspice berry.

Well, I'd had that pitcher for a very long time, and I didn't feel too bad about having to replace it, other than annoyance at my clumsiness and the inconvenience. But I couldn't bring myself to throw it away.

Then it came to me. Recently, E and I helped my Dad set up a compost bin in the back yard. For my Mom's birthday, I gave her one of those compost canisters which sit on the counter to hold compost waste until they can be carried out. While my pitcher would never hold water again, it WAS capable of carrying orange peels, onion skins, and coffee grounds - or it was, after a judicious application of duct tape. And while there's no filter in the lid to contain odor, there IS a lid. And after all, the compost bin isn't so far away - it's more a carrying unit than a storage vessel.

I had the chance to test it out yesterday - I was making soup, and it was POURING rain outside. All the carrot ends and other miscellaneous compostable bits went into the pitcher, and stayed there until this morning, when I took advantage of the blue skies to trot across the yard and dump it out. It may not be the most attractive solution, but it cost me nothing and it works great.

Rain, rain

Loving the rain. It's been going for several days straight now, and we haven't been letting it stop us from our business, even if it means getting wet. I just watch the water run down into the storm drains and smile, and hope the local reservoirs and mountains are getting their fill as well.

Not only that, but watching the news last night, I was amused to notice that the station had sent reporters to the mountains on either side of the valley to report on problems, but neither group had anything to report other than precipitation. No landslides, no major accidents. Just water from the sky.

So keep being careful out there, and enjoy the wet! And if you're not the type who enjoys the rain, I've posted some pre-storm spring pictures to my Flickr you might enjoy as you look forward to warmer, drier times.

Jessajune.com

I've launched the redesign of the long-neglected JessaJune.com this morning. Enjoy!

Twitter Advice

From Ari, via Twitter: How to Use Twitter for Marketing and PR

Why yes, I am posting this solely to improve its Google ranking, in the desperate hopes that Marketing and PR firms will see it.

(I am not saying Twitter cannot be used for customer outreach - check out SFBART for a great example of this. But Twitter is more for getting information out and improving the experience of people who are already your customers, not for driving up new business from strangers. I restricted my Twitter feed because I got tired of being followed by people trying to hawk businesses and services, who mistakenly thought that following ME was going to get me to follow THEM and their advertising messages, instead of just showing their ignorance and making me think worse of them. Figure out how the technology works before you start using it - otherwise you're just a spammer. And on Twitter, you're a failed spammer, at that.)