Zee Write Stuff

Ah Yes. Americans are waking up to the high cost of driving. I know Europeans have dealt with this issue forever and may have no sympathy for our gas-guzzling ways, but it's not easy to break the habits of a lifetime. Many will say, "I'm not changing!" And many will use hand gestures (or finger gestures?) to accompany that point. Others may bike to work (oy! that's a long trek on dicey roads for the majority) or take public transit. Some of us will have to be ingenuous . Most of us will take baby steps and make incremental changes. Soooooo....

How can we spend the Memorial Day Weekend (this sort of bugs me -- I don't get how a day can become a weekend and we can mix the two, but that's another blog) without using gas?

What's to say, after you yell at the screen, "STAY HOME!" ???

Don't get so testy! I've been pondering this question all morning and I've made a list -- just in time for Thursday Thirteen! Go figure!

Anyway, here are some ideas I'm going to try this weekend:

1. GAME MARATHON -- Looks like rain here anyway, so let's pull out Monopoly, Scrabble, and all the rest.

2. MOVIE MARATHON - What movies do you have on hand? I have six Netflix envelopes sitting on the coffee table with nothing to do. These include: The Great Debaters with Denzel Washington; Starting Out in the Evening (about a writer!); Juno (we never saw because our local movie theatre went out of business); Sense and Sensibility (the new BBC version which we didn't see because we don't have t.v. hook up); Crossing Jordan, Season 1 (same reason -- catching up on series because we don't have t.v.); and finally..... National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (how fun is that?!). In addition, I have enough dvds here to fill any theme marathon: romance, adventure, Harry Potter, Kevin Costner, the 60's -- a theme to fit any mood!

Since the idea is to NOT USE GAS, we will not be driving an hour to a movie theatre to see the new Indiana Jones flick. So, don't tell me the plot, please. I'm avoiding all reviews until we can pool our errands such that we drive to NH to see it (ah ha! saving gas!).

3. READ! My basket of books to read is overflowing. I hit the library AND a used book fair. OMG.

4. CRAFTS! I'm completely into Altered Art. I've been doing treasure boxes. But...Dominoes are my current rave. They are like little canvasses waiting for additional elements. Here are a couple of my first attempts:



5. OLD MAGAZINES! Cut up for collages and toss the rest. Oh, keep any good recipes.

6. GARDENING! In VT we can't plant (seriously) until Memorial Day. Sweeties -- it snowed this week. But I am hoping for a bit of warmth so I can at least do the hanging boxes. I have 24 wave petunias ready to go!

7. SEW! Have fabric, must create. And I have a quilt that needs finishing. And bags for my business ZeeBagsVt.com --- although my website needs updating (another thing to do?)

8. CALL! Mom, Geoff, Joanne.... the list goes on! So, call your loved ones... after all, it's MEMORiAL DAY.. you might want to REMEMBER them!

9. OLD PHOTO ALBUMS! Talk about remembering -- maybe take a few minutes (that might turn into hours) perusing old photo albums, especially of those loved ones who've passed. I began a genealogy chart using a great software program and lots of information I found in a box of pictures, stolen from my mom's garage. I've also been scanning. To the left is my Aunt Nan (for whom I'm named).

10. PRACTICE! I'm going to work on my short game by chipping golf balls in the yard. I'll use whiffle balls so I don't have to chase too much. If we had horseshoes, that would be fun. Darts? Catch? Knit? Crochet? Jump rope? Lift weights! Time to learn a new skill?

11. WALK THE DOG! Both of us could use the exercise. Duh.

12. DANCE! A few weeks ago, I bought a cool swirly skirt, and the company included a great little dance CD -- full of oldies . That prodded me to download a Donna Summer album from iTunes. I'm rockin' now. I am not planning to do housework (hey! it's a HOLIDAY), but dancing is a nice way to move around the house for fun. I might just take breaks and yell out, "Ten minutes of dancing right now!"

13. EAT! I'm collapsing a category here. This includes bake (I found an EASY key lime pie recipe in the latest Real Simple magazine) and I will probably bake a couple loaves of sourdough bread, but you could do cookies, cupcakes, or pancakes -- whatever... have I said this enough? It's a HOLIDAY; barbecue -- hot dogs, hamburgers, salmon, eggplant... the list goes on; snack (you fill in the blank here) ; chop and dice (fruit salad, cole slaw); even churn ice cream (well, we do have an unused Cuisinart ice cream maker sitting here....

Soooooo.... I'll be lounging on the porch, rain or shine, enjoying the beginning of Summer (even if the calendar doesn't agree with me). I'll be gas-free! And notice, too, I'm not shopping or consuming ($$) anything extra -- at least not during those 3 days. I'll even refrain from shopping online. Quite the milestone for me -- turning over a new leaf. At least for 3 days.

I hope you have a nice break from the rat race, too!