Now and then I post on Pure Visibility’s internet marketing blog – typically posts about our culture, our process, our clients, and events. Recently, the GetDowntown blog featured profiles of folks who, like me, love walking to work. I’m included in the group. But I’m particularly proud of my “Curb Your Car Month Citizen Blog” I curbed my elevator car in May.
Carless
Curb Your Car Month – Kick off! (gratitude #20)
I love that I live in a walkable city. I love that May is Curb Your Car Month in Ann Arbor. This morning I joined other Curb Your Car Month Ambassadors at City Hall to kick off the month’s activities. How nice to meet up with like minded spirits and celebrate walking to work!
- Commuter Challenge – area businesses vie for the most sustainable miles logged commuting
- WalkerTracker Ann Arbor Competition
- See my walking “blog” on WalkerTracker (now defunct)
Local Ann Arbor treats power party (gratitude #19)
Jointly with the mother of the bride, I hosted a bridal shower for a friend this Saturday. The bride’s mom called me from New York and said she wanted to throw a party, but needed “support on the ground”. So, I agreed to pull together a guest list and host.
I had a lot of fun picking out and picking up the party food. I stopped at 4 stores, 3 of which were in walking distance of my home. Technically the 4th (Busch’s on South Main Street) was also in walking distance, but I didn’t leave enough time for the trip. Here’s the menu:
- Luscious Highland smoked salmon from Tracklements, in Kerrytown
- A selection of cheeses from Sparrow Meat and Produce, also in Kerrytown
- Rosemary sheep cheese
- Shropshire blue
- A mild cheese that starts with a C that I can’t recall
- A Zingerman’s baguette
- Bon bons and yummy cookies with jam inside from Jefferson Market & Cakery
- Along with some wine (not local), I served jasmine tea from Arbor Teas
- The only item that required a car trip was the fruit salad, from Busch’s.
What fun to spend a beautiful spring day walking through the neighborhood to gather treats for the party!
Have no car = need new dentist?
So, this whole “not having a car thing” is rippling into other things. The current struggle is whether to change dentists. I have been going to Enspire Dental, formerly Farah & Associates, for several years now. Well, they’re out on Liberty and not on a bus line, so I pretty much can’t get to them without renting a car or riding my bike or begging a ride. Seems like it might be simpler to move to a more local dentist. Must be some in/around downtown Ann Arbor. Anyone got a recommendation?
Cascade of changes
It’s been a strange week.
I’ve learned of several deaths in friends’ and colleagues’ families. Two of my favorite yoga teachers in town are moving to Chicago. My yoga studio ripped out a wall of equipment.
DTE decided to tear up my front garden again, this time to insert plastic pipes, 6 months after tearing up the exact same spots to do it with metal pipes, and about 2 weeks after I replanted the ripped up sections. They also piled several feet of soil dug out of the lawn between the sidewalk on the road on top of newly seeded grass where we had just fixed up damage done by the people who paved our driveway.
I went to a new hairdresser for the first time in many years. I had been with Jeanne for the last 12 years or so. And, Friday I had my last formal day at my old job.
Message to Dunrie: do not get attached.
