Plurking Away

So yesterday I was listening to the Lime n Violet podcast. One interesting thing popped up: Plurk. What's Plurk? It's an addiction!

Okay, actually it's a very fun social site. You make friends, and post little tidbits during the day. Friends and "Fans" (people who don't add you as a friend but still want to follow your plurks) can reply, and you can reply back, creating a sort of meandering mini-conversation.

Your page is a timeline, which shows your plurks as little sentences scattered along, with numbers after them indicating the number of replies. You can look at only your plurks, only a certain person's plurks, only new plurks, whatever.

I'm sadly addictive. But it's amazing how many knitters are on there: MissViolet of LimenViolet, of course, and WendyKnits (of WendyKnits), Quietish (Rosemary) of CraftBorg, and a couple of dozen ravelers and lots of others.

Love my reusable bags!

Back at Christmas, I bought a really pretty reusable bag at Barnes and Noble. I love it, and I tote it with me a lot, and my Trader Joe’s red-and-pink Hawaiian print bag.

But it’s so frustrating! At least once a week I forgot to take a bag with me, and have to use disposable bags. I had a clerk tell me the other day, “Well, just throw it away when you get home,” when they didn’t put my stuff in my bag, even though I told them I didn’t want any plastic bags!

People just don’t get it. What, does she think it just disappears? It has to go to a landfill or be recycled; neither is good for the environment. Even if I reuse it as a trash bag (which is preferable to going out and buying trash bags when I have grocery bags already), it ends up in a landfill sooner or later.

I’m going to buy the Eden Mini Maxi Shopper by Rosenthal. It will clip on my knitting tote, so I never forget it! And it’s cute…

See more progress on: Use fewer plastic bags

Responsible shopping in Virginia Highlands

If you like the handmade, Ten Thousand Villages is the place to go in Virginia Highland. I love this little shop: it’s full of wonderful treasures from across the globe, all handmade by people who care. The best part? It’s fair trade, and many of the “employees” are actually volunteers.

I love finding a place like this in a neighborhood like Virginia Highland. It’s a beautiful district, but so many of the shops carry the formulaic staples of every artsy-urban area. But not Ten Thousand Villages. Get great, distinctive items for yourself or a loved one, things you won’t see in every shop. And help struggling artisans with limited options for employment make a fair living.

See more progress on: Ten Thousand Villages Atlanta