Cake

There isn't anything special about this cake, its just a spice cake out of the box. But these candied pecans are very, very good. I found a recipe for candied walnuts in a stir fry book, which sounds weird because they topped a zucchini/garlic stir fry. But I used the same recipe for pecans and they are delicious on salads, cake, whatever. You can hide them in the freezer and just dole out a few at a time. In fact, better to keep them out of sight, or you might gobble them all down at once. The recipe is a bit of trouble, but worth it.

Candied Nuts
1/2 pound walnuts or pecans
2 tbs. honey
2 tbs. sugar
pinch salt
2 tbs. cooking oil

Cover the nuts with water in a small saucepan, and boil over high heat for 5 minutes. Immediately drain in a colander. In a 2 quart saucepan, mix the honey, water, sugar and salt. Bring this to a boil, then add the nuts. Stir and cook until the nuts become almost dry, several minutes. Spread the nuts in an even layer on a baking sheet, and bake in a 350 oven until they become a dark brown color (but not burned) about 12 minutes. Cool.

I have a friend who makes a delicious green salad with apples, nuts and dried cranberries. She gave me the recipe, but mine is never quite as tasty as hers. To a daily cook like me, there is just something about the pleasure of eating good food other people prepared.
Julie, these nuts would be perfect for that salad!

Raccoons and grapes

The deck is covered each morning with muddy footprints-- all sizes. They show up daily to check out the grapes, usually about the time John leaves for work. (He says he doesn't see them but frankly, unless one jumped on his head he wouldn't notice much at that awful hour.) The grapes taste pretty good to me, but these guys wait for their perfect moment and then the feast is over in just a day. For freeloaders, I notice raccoons can be picky and fastidious. Who says beggars can't be choosers? I took this family picture in the yard a couple of years ago when a mother had five kits under our shed. I know they are "urban pests," but what an unforgettable sight!

Yesterday we enjoyed one more morning of crystalline blue skies, but fall weather suddenly arrived in the afternoon with clouds, rain, wind and temperatures down in the 40's last night.

Two pianos on stage

We went to the symphony yesterday afternoon for the start of our regular Sunday concert series. I have to admit, a highlight for me was seeing our nice seat neighbors Betsy and Paul, and getting caught up on all the news of the summer. Of course, with very little coaxing I whipped out our portable album of baby Nova photos!

The highlight of the program was Mozart's Concerto (K.365) for two pianos. Before it even begins, there is something thrilling about seeing those enormous pianos wheeled out on the stage together. Jon Kumera Parker and Orli Shaham were the pianists.

The famous old portrait above is of Mozart and his sister Anna Maria, known as Nannerl. Dad Mozart is on the right with his violin, and Mom looks down from the portrait. They don't exactly look like they're having a good time. Both kids were gifted pianists, and trotted around Europe at an early age performing. Music scholars assume this concerto was was written by Mozart as a showpiece to perform with his sister. I read in the program that Albert Einstein was a Mozart scholar in his spare time, and he described the relationship of the two pianos in the first movement of this concerto as a "brilliant contest." Sibling rivalry?

Apple time

Yesterday I picked the biggest, finest apples we've ever seen on our little Sparta tree. I was positive they would have the loathsome maggot disease or scale as usual. In fact, I was thinking about giving up and chopping the tree down. Nature never ceases to surprise and delight, and sometimes success comes with no effort at all. Zen.

From "After Apple Picking"

by Robert Frost

My long two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,

And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Shop at Trader Joes?

Here's a video for Saturday morning. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk

Tomato and Pear Chutney

This is an old recipe for our favorite fruit chutney. I try to make it every fall because it's good with chicken, turkey and pork. The flavor is slightly sweet and spicy, not hot, although you could fire it up some with more cayenne. The peeling and chopping seems endless, but after that it just cooks itself, although you have to have patience for it to simmer down to the right consistency before you "can" it. Like all chutneys, it gets better after being stored unopened on the shelf for 2-6 months, so this batch will be great about Thanksgiving. I try to use all my home canned food up within a year, which isn't a problem with this chutney. Here's the recipe, if you are interested in a little project.

3 cups chopped peeled pears
3 cups peeled chopped tomatoes (Roma works best)
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more)

Combine ALL ingredients in a heavy pot. (This is why I love making chutney!!) Bring to the boil, then the simmer, but don't wander too far from the stove because you'll need to check in and stir it occasionally, especially toward the end when it thickens. Pour it into hot sterilized jars, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (if you "can" at home you know this routine.) You could also store in the refrigerator where it would keep for several weeks if you don't have all the apparatus to can. It makes about 4 small 1/2 pint jars pints, and because we use so much of it I've also doubled this recipe.

Lampshade Lucy

My brother Dave brought Lucy to Seattle yesterday to have her "indolent corneal ulcer" treated, and they had some dinner with us before heading home. If I understood, Lucy just has a surface eye sore that doesn't want to heal, so the vet removes the top layer to help it along.

I think she looks somewhat saint-like in her transparent halo, which (dang-it) she must wear for another two weeks. But animals don't feel sorry for themselves, one of the things we love best about them. And for a Golden, being with people is as good as it gets, even if you had eye surgery that afternoon.

The lampshade doesn't bother her, in fact I think she was using it as a radar cone to focus in on that bowl of ice cream last night!

Cherry tomatoes

I've never had so many tomatoes from one potted plant-- several gallons I'm sure. With all the hot weather, many of us are bragging about our tomato plants this summer. The south side of the house bakes all afternoon, so perfect for tomato and basil pots as long as I water every single day. John gets tired of the cherry tomatoes but I never do. Mostly I like eating them when I'm working outside, and they're hot from the sun. It reminds me when we were kids on the farm, and would grab the salt shaker and head out to the garden to gorge ourselves on big warm tomatoes. I'm cheap when it comes to buying vegetable starts, and this plant was a scraggly little thing when I bought it at Fred Meyer last April. Now I wish I could remember the variety for next year.

Speaking of working outside, I have plenty of fall clean up but have been dragging my feet getting started. The days are warm and sunny, the sunsets golden and we still have roses, dahlias and zinnias. But I think we've seen the last of the 80+ days in Seattle, and they are promising a fall rain storm next week.

Time flies...

Here's an August 16th picture of newborn Nova trying out her new hat, and not very happy about it either.


Flash forward, 5 weeks later and Nova's already hanging out at the espresso stand. Not only has she grown into her hat, but Amanda says it's almost too small already. Grandma better get busy and crochet a new orange hat. What a cutie-- and how fast she's changed in just a few short weeks!

The first day of fall

The first day of fall, and you would never know it in Seattle with another beautiful summer day and a high of 84. I keep telling myself to take one more outside ride before the bad weather hits, but the nice days keep on coming.

I'm still surprised finding myself riding down this city street and thinking about how different the view looks from a horse. At first I was hesitant (OK, scared) to make the ride to the park by myself. It's amazing what humans and equines can get used to. Sizzle plods down the asphalt or sidewalk as if she's done it her entire life, and nothing much seems to bother her. And like all smart horses, her pace picks up on the way BACK to the barn!


When we hit the trail she gets more alert. Except for the occasional loose dog, it is tranquil and pretty in there, but for all she knows, this little park could be the wilderness with a cougar behind every tree. Which isn't too far fetched-- there have been repeated cougar sightings at the Microsoft campus in Redmond over the past few weeks. Although some local wag commented "It's a snow leopard, and Microsoft is scared!"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2009914784_dogssearchmicrosoftcampusforcougar.html

"The Wisdom Keepers"

Margaret Atwood is a well-known author, and she has an article in the fall AARP magazine called "The Pressure to be Wise." She was asked to participate in a video series called "The Wisdom Keepers" which interviews older people of accomplishment and is intended to be motivational to young folks. In this article, Margaret Atwood jokes about declaring herself a "stupidity keeper" and opting out of the project. I think she is saying, age plus experience doesn't guarantee wisdom. So what is wisdom anyway? I suppose if you are lucky to be wise in old age, you would also have the wisdom to share it without being a royal pain to the younger generation.

When I was writing this post last night, by coincidence Margaret Atwood was featured on a PBS evening news segment. She's probably best known for her spooky book "The Handmaiden's Tale" that was later made into a movie. Her new novel is called "The Year of the Flood" about a religion (God's Gardeners) devoted to preserving all plant and animal life with some weird consequences.

When I turned 50, I resisted signing up with the annoying AARP organization, but John joined immediately upon turing the half century mark. Now I like reading most of their magazine. If you are not in the AARP demographic yet, here's a link to the Atwood article:

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/the_pressure_to_be_wise.html

Nova and Roger

Sunday afternoon in the park. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Baby Nova and Baby Amanda

What grandma can resist digging out the old baby pictures, and doing a granddaughter and daughter side-by-side? A couple of little beauties, and look at those eyes and chubby chins!

Brown rice stories

I'm going to date myself now. In 1975 I was a student at San Diego State, and remember joining a coop at the beginning of the organic food movement. Shopping at a coop was also a protest against
"The Man." Meaning: bankers, businessmen, cops, narcs, and I guess mainstream grocery store owners. Anyone or anything that stood for capitalism or authority. We felt radical going to coop meetings, and virtuous buying bulk food out of an empty storefront once a week. You brought your containers and helped yourself from barrels or the garden tables, weighed and priced (mostly honestly) your own stuff, and then took it to a volunteer cashier who made change out of a tin box. Then you lugged home things you didn't quite know what to do with, like 5 pounds of brown rice and a 2 foot zucchini. I'm sure we ate many chewy vegetarian dinners, but who cared? There was plenty of company because in those freewheeling days someone was always dropping by with a stash or jug of Spanada wine, if you were lucky.

Like many trends in California then, the food coop was also ahead of its time. I bought my first brown rice and tasted my first string cheese at the coop, and thought it was wonderful. Now we are spoiled with the variety of food available everywhere. To make a long story short, I still cook brown rice and hopefully better than I did in the 70's. Because it takes at least an hour to cook, I always make extra for the freezer. It's handy to take out small packets to saute with vegetables for a side dish. Last week I mixed leftover brown rice and canned black beans (rinsed) with peppers, onions, cumin, garlic, etc. It was hearty enough for a nice vegetarian supper with tortillas and salsa.

And here's a trip down memory lane-- a Spanada wine commercial from 1978:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3qzCQZLR-E

Nova and Blue

Amanda took Nova to Blue's office for her 6 week check-up, and guess what? Our "little" Nova is already over 11 pounds! Good job Amanda and Tom, the sleepless nights have paid off and the reward is seeing those first smiles on your baby's face. Amanda was sad this was their last scheduled visit with the wonderful midwife and nurse-practitioner Blue Bradley, and now Nova will be going to the regular little clinic in Winthrop. (Hopefully, not too often!)

I wanted to say a few words about Blue, who took such good care of Amanda through the pregnancy, home delivery, and post care. I felt really fortunate to meet her right after the birth, and over the next few days when she came back to the house to care for Amanda and Nova. She really is a treasure to the women and babies of the Methow Valley.

http://methowmidwifery.com/

Sunset rose

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness: but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

From Endymion, Book I, by John Keats

As they say, light is everything in photography. A sweet, golden September sunset shining on the "Brother Cadfael" rose. And speaking of John Keats, there's a new movie out called "Bright Star" , all about his tragic love affair with Fanny Brawne. Take your hankie.

Ready for rain

We had a warm rain shower last night about dinnertime, and then a bright sunset-- beautiful. And it smelled so good falling on the parched grass. The weather report says we may still have some days in the 80's for the first week of fall.

I was walking around Nordstroms the other day-- as usual just looking not buying. There was a rack of ultra-chic designer raincoats with this sign: City Coats. How elegant! It made me want to buy a $300 "city" jacket I didn't even need.

But I did buy a new "city coat" for Sizzle to fit in with her new city friends. No cold rain on HER back this winter! (And it was a bargain compared to that Nordstroms jacket.)

The return of the gunnera

As the flowers die down and I begin paring back, the little details jump out again. Almost like a reverse spring, when the garden first comes to life. I wrote about the gunnera plant on July 22, and the amazing prehistoric
"flower" it sends up in the fall.

Here's a description from the Internet:

"The inside view of a Gunnera plant is best described as grotesque. The flowers are ghastly and stay low in the middle of the plant. The stalks are ferocious with spikes."

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/foliage-plants/gunnera.html

Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it is a pretty bizarre "flower." I like the strange detail on this shot, but John pointed out (rightly so) that the picture doesn't give an idea of the scale. But I can tell you it's about as tall as two wine bottles set on end. Eventually, it gets black and mushy and flops over. That would be the "ghastly" part.

"The kind of September..."

There are many songs about September, and no wonder-- it is a beautiful and poignant month. Our long, warm summer is winding down in Seattle, and looking back the months have already blended into one perfect day, but with many memories. In particular, I'll always remember answering my phone one bright morning by the side of the road above the Columbia River, and hearing the news that an exquisite baby named Nova had just entered our lives. And so the cycle of seasons and life continues.

When I think of beginnings and endings, I like reading these simple words written by the poet John Donne:

Our fear of death is like our fear
That summer will be short.
But when we have our swing of pleasure,

Our fill of fruit,

And our swelter of heat,

We say we have had our day.

1620

Morning nap

Sometimes horses like to lay down and rest for short periods during the day, and at night in their stalls when they feel safe. Horses can also sleep just fine standing and most prefer it, since the "run away fast" instinct is hard-wired, and such a big animal is slow to get on its feet when danger comes. In fact, I've only seen Sizzle on the ground a handful of times, and each time my heart skips a beat! My horse is getting old, is she OK???
(Yup, just fine and dandy.)

So it was a fun to see her relaxing in the warm sun outside her stall the other day. She looked so sweet laying there like a big, lazy dog. I ran back to the car for my camera before she saw me and jumped up to beg for her treat.

Sizzle has a view from her stall "balcony" looking east to the Cascade mountains, and Boeing Field far below where John is hard at work while she naps in the sun. A pretty good life!

Seattle Symphony Gala

Seattle symphony
Originally uploaded by muumuulibrarian

We had a big night out at the Silver Anniversary Gala to celebrate Music Director Gerard Schwartz's 25 years with the Seattle Symphony. Our regular season tickets are for Sunday afternoons, but John always picks some extra interesting concerts when they first go on sale in the spring. He's also great at nabbing the very best seats in the "cheap" sections, so for about the price of a movie and popcorn, we often hear something truly remarkable.

We were in the second row last night when John Lill played two monster piano concertos in the same program: Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Playing both astonishingly difficult concertos and making it look (almost) easy seemed super-human! Next year will be Gerard Schwartz's last before he retires. So the symphony will have a new Maestro someday, although everything in Seattle seems to take forever. The Symphony Board of Directors will have to find a talented and internationally known person to replace Schwartz, who is also willing to live in our little lumber jack corner of the country.

To top the evening off, it was a beautiful night in Seattle and still almost 70 at 9:30 PM. Downtown was just starting to hop when we drove home, but we left it to the young folks.

Last but not least

This delicate and pretty flower is blooming now, and the last lily we'll see for the summer. I don't remember where it came from, but most likely the B&D lily farm on Bainbridge. I think this variety is considered a "wild" lily.

Dressage riding

There's nothing like a picture that makes it look like you know what you're doing, even when you don't! Thanks, Jennifer for snapping this one yesterday of Sizzle in her new dressage bridle.

Many years ago, I took dressage lessons from a stern lady who managed to teach me a little bit through her exasperation with my lack of talent. Since then, I've done all kinds of trail and western pleasure riding, but no other dressage training. If you're not familiar with dressage, here's a brief description from Wikipedia:

Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, it can smoothly respond to a skilled rider's minimal aids by performing the requested movement while remaining relaxed and appearing effortless. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet."

The "relaxed and effortless" is the hardest part, and we're a long way from anything resembling "ballet." But Sizzle is a good sport as I fit her out with new tack, and we both try to learn from something new from the bottom up. I'm lucky now having the chance to take lessons with our Dr. Jean, an outstanding rider and exceptional, kind teacher. Last weekend, she hosted a riding clinic sponsored by Artistic Dressage, an organization that trains riders and horses in this extremely difficult art. We were out of town, so unfortunately I missed most of it. But on Monday I watched several lessons taught by Dr. Ritter, who was trained at the intimidating Spanish Riding School, which is the pinnacle of fine horsemanship in the entire world. Very inspiring!

Donkey's tail

The Donkey's tail is a very cool looking succulent plant. It grows excruciatingly slowly, but in places like California it can turn into a massive hanging plant. Like me, it would rather live in Santa Barbara in the winter.

Why do I bother except for the challenge? It is delicate, falls apart in wind, picky about water, scorches in hot sun, freezes in winter, and doesn't like to be moved around. These little pots are at least 4 years old, and they love being outside from April to October. In the winter, I have to find a sunny window (ha ha) and remember to water once or twice to sustain life. By spring they are very unhappy again, so this is as good as they ever look.





Here's a link to photos that show just how spectacular these plants can get:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=donkey+tail+plant&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=C02oSvKXKYTWtgOi45nFBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

The color of fall

Every now and then I find myself at the Walmart way down in Renton "saving money," although this usually costs about $150 per shopping trip. But Walmart is smart (we all know this) so there's usually some little unexpected bargain to make you feel like it was time well spent trudging all over their enormous store looking for things. For example, I was there recently buying a vibrating baby seat for Nova, and they had beautiful fresh pots of garden mums for only $2.99. Of course I bought one and it's been blooming outside, so pretty and bright as other things fade. These mums are supposed to be hardy, but I have bad luck wintering them over.

So the motto of the day is: enjoy now.

Happy Birthday, Irene!

The Cruel Camera

The fine digital camera that takes stunning pictures of flowers and enchanting baby close-ups is not so kind to the rest of us. Yes, I know this is just vanity, and there is always Photo Shop if you want to "tinker" with your "image," but I'm too lazy and not vain enough for that (yet!) But sometimes I miss the rigmarole of dropping film at the drugstore, and the anticipation of opening those envelopes and looking at fuzzy images of what happened weeks or months ago-- ancient history by our impatient digital standards.

The folks in the media who have to face the high def, high resolution, digital camera everyday in their professional lives are not above asking to be shot "slightly out of focus." Who can blame them? And this is nothing new. Remember in those old Doris Day movies, her close-ups had that dewy look as if she was filmed behind a piece of gauze? And maybe she was. At 10 years old, I thought she was just BEAUTIFUL! Harsh reality is not always a good thing and just because the camera CAN do it, doesn't mean it always SHOULD.

Maureen Dowd is a columnist for the New York Times and one of my favorite writers. Now that George W. Bush has faded into history, she's lost some rich material to sharpen her wit on, but she can still come up with a good, funny article. The ladies will get a kick out of this one, called "Pixilated over Pixels." Enjoy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14dowd.html?scp=11&sq=high%20definition%20camera&st=cse

And the seasons, they go round & round...

This is a picture we took last October of the river at Twisp City Park, where Amanda and Tom plan to get married in just a few weeks. Hopefully, they'll have a bright October day like this one. What a dramatic change in the weather this weekend with wintry rain as we went over the mountains yesterday, and some snow high up. It feels good to be home this afternoon with the furnace running!

Bye-bye till next time

We're sad to head back to Seattle today, but had a lovely visit with so many new memories (and pictures!) to take along home. Thank you Amanda and Tom for sharing Nova with her doting grandparents. She seemed to change and grow right before our eyes, and has certainly stolen lots of hearts. The next big family event will be Tom and Amanda's wedding in October. So much to look forward to, and having this lovely baby in our lives makes every day a gift.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa John!

Under the sunflowers

Here's Amanda and Nova in the back garden yesterday afternoon. Nova is wearing her first pair of real pants--red polka dots!

On being a grandparent

We had a wonderful day yesterday, and little Nova was a perfect sleeping angel all day, riding in the car, walking around town and then another long nap in the afternoon. Sleep, sleep sleep. So peaceful! However, even the tiniest ones need their awake time, and I think Nova's day was just beginning as John and I headed back to the motel for the night.

Have I mentioned, this is one of the big perks of Grandparenting?

Scenes from a mini-shower

Miss Nova Blue is going to be the best dressed girl in the Methow Valley. We had such fun last night opening all these gifts, thanks again everyone. Grandpa John and I are babysitting this morning while Mom gets caught up on laundry. Nova is sleeping the morning away, so she will have plenty of energy for tonight! :-)

We planning a drive up to Winthrop this afternoon, and may give lunch out a try. A beautiful sunny day here, and no rain expected until tomorrow.

Mom and Nova!

Here we are in eastern Washington again and hard to believe how much Nova has grown and changed in just a few weeks. What a little darling, and both Mom and baby the picture of health.

The Honda was stuffed full of gifts and "baby stuff" thank you everyone! John was wondering how a little 10 pound baby could accumulate so much so fast. ha ha!

We're looking forward to the weekend, the sun is still shining here and we left the rain back in Seattle. More pictures and news tomorrow-

Cactus in the rain

I know... sometimes it doesn't take much to get me excited. This is a nice close-up I took with the "fancy" camera, which I'm finally getting the hang of. When I wrote about planting this weird paper spine cactus on June 22, I didn't realize it would grow these cute looking mini spines so fast. You might remember my sister sent me a dusty box of starts from her cactus garden in Las Vegas. I've kept it outside on the front porch, where it baked all summer long. It must be almost indestructible in the desert, but time will tell when rain and gloom return to Seattle.

Speaking of rain, we've had a few surprise showers this week, and much more expected for the weekend. The days are noticeably shorter, and it's harder to convince yourself that 4:40 AM is actually morning, instead of the middle of the night (which it is.) The irony of Seattle gardening is right when the begonias, zinnias and dahlias are at their peak, the rains start and the heavy plants bend to the ground. Fall is a nice season though, except for the massive garden clean-up ahead! Who can complain since we just had the most beautiful summer ever in Seattle.

So, tomorrow we're heading east again to the Methow Valley to spend Labor Day weekend with Amanda, Tom and of course our little Nova. I can hardly wait to hold her again, and will post more cute baby pictures soon!

Where Does It Go?

Once upon a time, we threw all our "trash" into "trash cans"and a truck took it away so we never had to think of it again. My sister in Las Vegas tells me they can still drag any old thing to the curb, like sofas and broken refrigerators, to be hauled off as part of their service and buried in the desert. Don't try that in Seattle! I've heard that Seattle garbage is expensively trucked down I-5 and buried somewhere in Oregon, but the ultimate goal here is zero trash dumped in NW landfills.

This picture is the recycle/compost/trash rules that tell us what goes where, so the simple act of "taking out the trash" has become a fairly complicated process. It is illegal, for example, to throw compostables like vegetable peels into the trash can, or for that matter, down the garbage disposal. Kitchen waste, pizza boxes, chicken bones, paper towels, and all types of organic stuff goes into the "compost bin" along with the yard clippings. And now we throw our wine bottles, junk mail, cartons, plastic, etc. etc. together into the recycle bin. This is a work saver, since we used to have to separate the glass out, but now we throw everything in willy-nilly. Imagine the mess as the truck dumps these loads of paper and broken glass at the recycle facility? Recycling is big business here, and the size of these operations run by companies like Waste Management really boggles the mind.

But as Martha Stewart would tell us, this is "A GOOD thing." We've been surprised to see how little we actually throw away now. I admit we have a paper towel habit, but now that dirty paper goes in the compost bin too, our real garbage can is seldom full. John has a knack for following the exact "process" so he heads up the household trash police. He patrols the trash cans, where I might thoughtlessly throw something out, like a tissue. I've actually seem him put his toothpick into the compost, instead of the trash. Personally, I think this is a bit much! (But these are the type of people we want testing our airplanes ;-)