2012 Spring (Cleaning) Wrap Up

Saying farewell to spring with some of this year's tulips at Filoli

Today's the last official day of spring 2012 (summer starts at 4:09pm Pacific today), and I'm feeling the need to close out the season and start anew by celebrating all the spring cleaning I did this year.  I don't know about you, but I was definitely bit by the spring cleaning bug in 2012.  It started in my clothing closet.  (I'm not a big clothing shopper, but tend to hold on to what I do buy way beyond it's "expiration date".)  Despite this, I was able to convince myself to part ways with a few outfits and items I felt no longer represented who am I today. (Though I suspect there may still be some lurking in there that really ought to go!)

Grouping products by their EWG Skin Deep "hazard" ratings

Then I found out the hard-  "what is that red bumpy rash on my face" way - that I'm sensitive to fragrance in skin care products.  This was just the catalyst I needed to use the Environmental Working Group's  skin deep web-site to go through all my skin care products one weekend  - weeding out those with higher "hazard" ratings - and finding new, low hazard, fragrance free sun, skin and dental care products to use.   (Ratings are on a scale of 0-10, lower ratings mean lower hazard).

If you plan on doing a similar review of your products - I recommend budgeting plenty of time for review of current products and research for new. You can manage your time by breaking the project down by the categories you'll find on EWG's website (sun, skin care, eye care, makeup, babies and mom, oral care, nails etc.)  

I'd used EWG's skin deep site a few years ago to to find a body lotion and shower soap.  What I learned by going back this year is that you have to check their site periodically - maybe once a year - because brands sometimes change the formula of their products which can impact their rating.  For example - the body lotion I had chosen a year ago because it was rated a 3 had recently been bumped up to a 5 due to a change in their formula. The nerve!

In case you're interested, I let go of a lot of Clarins products in this year's "product cleanse" - and now use Bubble and Bee's unscented and organic:  facial cleanser, facial cream, shower soap, lotion stick and body butter (ratings range from 0-1).  Their products are good enough to eat!  And a little bit of it goes a long way - so I'll be saving money in the long run - while feeling great about using them.  Although it's rated a 4, I'm also using  DML-Daily-Facial-Moisturizer-SPF 25 (recommended by my dermatologist) during the day.  My skin has never looked or felt better.  

Before

A month or so after that project,  Yoga Niche's three week Spring (nutrition) Cleanse started - bringing with it all the cooking that it entails. A week into the program - I had just about had it with a section of our "pantry" - where as you can see on the left, trying to get to any one product - say sun flower seeds or dried garbanzo beans  - meant emptying out the entire shelf.  Augh!  Why I put up with that torture for so long I really don't know. 

After

 A quick trip to Bed Bath and Beyond for shelf organizers and BPA free containers to act as pull out "drawers" for various sections (grains, nuts, seeds, etc) was all I needed to breathe a sigh of relief and make cooking a far more pleasurable experience than it had been before.  

I'm learning that the enjoyment of a meal begins long before it's on your plate - and includes seeing and appreciating all of the wonderful ingredients before they are incorporated into your meal.

The inspiration for my final spring cleaning project was ignited by two things:  a flyer from Recology (our waste management company) announcing a free shredding event occurring in three weeks; and a blog post by Irene Leonard, a fellow colleague and business coach, heralding the wonders of the ScanSnap s1500 - a small "bread loaf sized" instant PDF sheet-fed (20plus pages at a time) scanner.

Over the years I've coached a lot of clients.  Many of these folks work with me at various points throughout their career - finding jobs, grooming for promotions, transitioning careers/jobs, rising in the ranks of leadership, developing their management skills - you name it.  Because of this - I had amassed a huge collection of client folders - spread out in boxes in my office and garage.  And like my kitchen shelf - seeing all those files taking up space had been niggling at me for some time.

Charlie helps with scanning project

So when I got the flyer, Irene's post on the scansnap immediately came to mind.  I knew I didn't want to lose the documents - I just didn't want them in paper form anymore.  They had to be digitized before they could be shredded.

The minute that flyer came in - the project was on!  I ordered the scanner and debated whether to find someone to do the scanning for me.  Time was tight though, so I decided to do it myself - and am glad I did.  It was cathartic to "revisit" the coaching work I'd done over the years - all the way back to when I first started my business.

Files, files, and more files....

 

With little time to get it all done though - I had to keep at it - scanning between client sessions, early mornings, late evenings, and throughout the weekends too.  

That scanner is a work horse!  Should you decide to get one for your own scanning / paperless office project - I recommend you read the reviews (and tips) on Amazon.  I found one that mentioned "inserting the paper gently" of particular help.

Onsite shredding!  Thanks Recology.

By the end of the three weeks though - I was pretty "done" with scanning - both mentally and physically.  (While happy to see the piles reducing - the job of scanning itself , when you have so much to scan, can be mind numbing.) 

I was happy too to see those files get shredded (I waited to make sure they were) -  and to say one final "goodbye" to all that paper - knowing that the info is now safely saved, backed up, and readily available in digital form.

 In some ways too - this post is acting as a final "cleanse' of info I felt needed to be expressed so as not to grow "old and stale" in the recesses of my mind.  I have lots of other "spring cleaning" projects in the queue  - including another run at my clothing closet, cleaning and organizing the garage, using EWG to evaluate and choose better makeup, more scanning and shredding to reach the paperless office of my dreams, more organizing in the kitchen, and introducing you to our four felines on the blog.  I'm not sure when I'll get to them all, but it sure feels good to look back on all that's already been accomplished this year, as spring comes to a close, and the summer begins.

What "spring cleaning" did you do this year?

Repurposing the Past: A Walk on Sawyer Camp Trail

Crystal Springs Reservoir along Sawyer Camp trail

I revisited an "old friend" this week.  The Sawyer Camp Trail along the crystal springs reservoir in San Mateo.  This trail and I have been in relationship for over 25 years.  I know it's every nook, cranny and mile-marker.  In the old days, long before my knees and back became issues - this was the place I came to run - and run - and run.  God how I loved to run here.  And I mean run, not jog.  Through the seasons, rain or shine - early evening after work during my corporate days, then with more flexibility once I started my coaching business.

Very recent "memorial" bench installed

It's a beautiful place to be but since my running career is long over now (first the knees and now the back) and we've moved a few towns away - I don't visit it that often anymore.  I think this was the first time I'd been there this year.  That's going to have to change.

Love that view

 

In the old days - I used to love running out beyond the one mile marker where most of the strollers (adults and baby) cluster - to where it felt the trail was more my own - except for the occasional biker, roller blader, or fellow runner.  If a runner was ahead - they became my target to pass.  Or if behind ....you can probably guess the rest.  It became a habit to go to the 3.5 mile point to visit the Jepson Laurel (now the oldest laurel in California), grab a well needed drink from the water fountain (unfortunately no longer there) and stretch/rest up for the 3.5 mile run back.  5 - 7 miles was what I usually ran.

A (not so flattering) pic of the Jepson Laurel - over 600 years old - and oldest Laurel in California

It's hard when the mind is willing - wanting even - and the body is not capable of fulfilling.  My back, knock on the nearest oak tree, is feeling better.  Less chronic pain - more situational now.  But running - and all the ensuing disc compression that would result - is not an option.  I'm not stupid.  I want to preserve what I have.  Avoid the knife.  Feel no pain.

This was here long before cell phones were - I find it rather funny now.

So as I set off on the trail - after having been gone for so long - I felt conflicted.  How long of a walk did I want to take?  Would the experience be diminished in comparison to the memory of all of those satisfying runs from the past?  I'll admit I felt a bit sad as I started out.  I felt the loss of running which I had loved so much.  I felt the loss of my youth. 

At the 3.5 mile mark

But I was outside, on a trail I know and love, surrounded by the California countryside which I also know and love....and I started noticing what parts of my old running memories I was experiencing while walking.  (I decided pretty early on that I was going for the Jepson Laurel - for a 7 mile round trip.) 

Every twist and turn of the trail was the same, as was the crunch of gravel under my feet, the occasional wildlife (hawks, ducks, deer, all sorts of birds, and what I think was a blue heron and a dead lizard), and the smell of California (you have to live here and/or run/walk its hills to know what I'm talking about).  Just like the old days, I tapped each half mile marker as I passed, and found myself noodling away - lost in thought-  like I used to while running.  I just had more time to think.  And more time to soak in my surroundings.  I walked as fast as my back allowed - coming upon each half mile marker much faster than I thought I would - and even passed/ or kept from passing some fellow walkers.  Fun!

So while some things have changed, some things will never change, and new experiences and memories can always be created - even with old friends like this trail is to me.  

What from your past will you repurpose?

Gamble Garden Spring Tour: 2012

In the center are three to four different kinds of mint.  Yum

Every spring, Gamble Garden - a non profit community horticultural foundation located in Palo Alto, CA hosts a spring garden tour of five Palo Alto homes.  Its a weekend event filled with food, all things gardening, plant sales, a silent auction and other fun events.  Always open to new ideas and inspiration - we've been going to the garden tour for the last five or six years - sometimes with friends, sometimes, like this year, on our own.  Having just planted veggies in our own garden, we were exited to see what this year's tour theme of "beautiful designs with edibles" had in store for us.

Great way to recycle old corks and track what's in the garden - just remember - use water proof ink!

Our typical M.O. on tour day is to pack a picnic lunch to enjoy at Gamble Garden mid tour (they also offer a boxed lunch that you can buy ahead.) With addresses received in advance of the tour, we plot out which houses we'll see prior to lunch, which ones after, with a goal of walking as much of the route as possible.  (This year I walked a little less to mind my back, but am ecstatic to say that it held up pretty well throughout the day.)

As an FYI - the spring tour (which has a nominal fee) runs for two days - usually in late April or early May.  Gamble Garden's 2.5 acre property - which includes a historic home, a carriage and tea house, and formal and demonstration gardens - is open to the public - every day of the year - and is well worth the visit (for free).

Sweet little street cruiser

Every home on this year's tour had "edibles in the garden" in some way, shape or form.  Some were planted in  traditional raised planter beds, others were planted throughout the garden, and others in pots of every size.  I have to say, I really liked all of them - as we have a little of all three going on at home.

Lovely raised beds in a front yard

Interesting vertical garden in the back

It wasn't until after lunch though that I really fell in love.  With two gardens that is.  My dream garden - which I'm in the process of creating - is a composition of these next two gardens.  The main ingredients include:  lots of inviting sitting areas, a lawn big enough for a dog (or two) to play in, ample space for a veggie garden, a great space to entertain, some kind of cottage / guest house / office or separate structure, water elements, garden art, and last but certainly not least, ample space for a chicken coop and run. 

 

Front yard sitting area

Plenty of room for entertaining

A quiet place to get away from it all

More inviting sitting areas

A view from the pool

Comfortable seats surrounding the pool beckoned us to to stop and soak it all in - so we rested by the pool and "people watched" for a spell before heading back to visit the vegetable garden.  I'd seen colorful cages like these on a web-site somewhere before, but never "live".  I loved them immediately and was inspired to buy a few for our garden too.  Why settle for silver metal when you can have a splash of color instead?

Veggie beds with colorful cages

Some garden art to brighten a fence

I had a very hard time leaving this place.  Every nook and cranny of it spoke to my heart and soul.  Saying things like "why don't you stay a while longer?" I can well imagine the good times had here by this home's family and friends.  But off we finally went - to visit the final house on the tour.  Here we found a garden with it's vegetables planted all throughout the garden....and with a special surprise out in back.

Climbing trellis and a guest house on the right

A salad patch

My husband got there first and hurried back to find  me because he knew I'd be happy to see them.....five or six chickens in a beautiful big coop!  Oh how I look forward to enjoying fresh eggs from my own happy and healthy chickens one day.

Living the good life!

Fresh eggs anyone?

Gamble Garden itself is a terrific place to visit - especially when this event is going on.  They have a plant sale, their beautiful gardens, refreshments, a silent auction and a shop that as their brochure says - sells "well-loved-garden-themed home decor at sensational prices".  I always like to wander through the shop when we break for lunch. Picture a small low key antique store - with plates and pitchers and things like that inside - the odd garden bench and pots and so on outside. 

Leo inspecting the new pot

We found this beautiful stamped terracotta half pot outside and were offered a steep reduction on it's price. (The thing is pretty darn heavy and I think they were just happy to see it go.)  It's just what we need to disguise an air conditioning unit that was marring the "look and feel" of a sitting area we have at home. 

Early May

Speaking of home, we are pretty happy with the new pot , as well as the colored cages I found - inspired by those we saw on the tour.  (They were selling out like hotcakes and hard to find, but thanks to the help of a friend, I picked some purple and red ones up at Orchard Supply Hardware in Foster City).  Above is what it looked like in early May - and below is what it's looking like a month later.  Go Mother Nature go! 
 

Early June

In our backyard we've planted four different kinds of sunflowers from seeds, and have basil, peas, two different cucumbers, green onions, carrots, rosemary and two yellow Blondkopfchen cherry tomatoes.  Oh - and marigolds, an apricot and a fig tree too. (It's no wonder we were excited about this year's edible garden theme).

In our sunny (small) side yard, we have four different red tomatoes:  two Early Girls, one Husky cherry and one Sweet One Hundred cherry tomato.

In our courtyard - pots of basil, oregano, strawberries, and  lemon balm vie for space with succulents, roses, cacti, violas, hibiscus and cat nip for the cats.  Like those folks who opened their gardens to us on the tour this year, I'm looking forward to all that fresh produce turning into tasty meals in our very near future.

What tasty edibles grow in your garden?