Reading nook

Looky-look! It's a little nook! With a kid reading a book!

It may not look like anything much, but this little spot has been a source of contention in our house for a year, maybe more. I'm a crazed book addict, it's really true... and my husband is decidedly not. I particularly LO-O-OVE children's books and have such a knack for finding the best of the best out at thrift stores.... no wonder our shelves are overflowing. There's been a big pile of overflow sitting in the corner of this room for a ridiculously long time now. Matt thinks we should limit the amount of books we own to what will fit on our (current) shelves. I know he is probably right but it seems like we are fighting against what simply is... this is the collection, pared down by me to the bare essentials (and believe me, I've tried and tried to pare it down beyond this and these are the absolute must-haves) (there's way more in the bedroom too). Now I may be no expert on clearing clutter and organization (though actually I am... I've read plenty of books on the matter, as is my wont, though unfortunately the house does not in any way reflect my expertise) but I do remember reading that wagging a finger at yourself and saying, "Now Kami. You always put the mail on the kitchen table when you walk in the door. You've been very bad. You need to start putting it in this basket over here instead, " is just no good if you can't force yourself to change your habit. Better to just put the basket where you naturally lay down the mail rather than lambasting yourself for your inability to overcome your muscle memory.

So anyway, I'm so proud! I quick-built that shelf out of some wood a friend was clearing out of their shed, and now the books have a home. And I was extra-specially proud because I made this gigantic pillow and guess what I filled it with. That's right... Virginia Fleck's plastic bags that I had such good intentions for (and which of course have been sitting in the corner of the shed, yet another source of contention)! Now the box of plastic bags is gone, and a fluffy-crinkly-soft-cozy big pillow is in its place. Necessity, the mother of invention, and all that. I actually had been planning on making something like this but it called for something called EPS beads which is, I believe, kind of ground up styrofoam or something and quite a good way to recycle styrofoam but I couldn't figure out where to get it. The project languished, and then inspiration struck. Voila! Nook accomplished.

Now see, I think a big part of my clutter and mess problem is that I prefer the making to the cleaning up/putting away.... if we can combine the two, we might be on to something.

Banging wall/ modular screen

My friend Bernadette brought by this big stack of used drum heads for me the other day. There's this place, Ecology Action, near my house that is this wonderful big recycling center and then they also have a free box where people can leave interesting tidbits that other people might be able to use. Bernadette kindly thought I might could make use of these drum heads and I did immediately have this idea for them. Actually I had thought of inviting the kids to bang on them but it came out looking so kind of nice and modern that I think I might leave that for awhile... my kids tend to take things to such an extreme sometimes I am sure they'll all be punctured soon enough. But a banging wall like this would really look groovy in my dream reuse playground (for Austin Tinkering School? or Austin Creative Reuse?) we'll definitely have to make use of this idea. Especially since my newest idea is to have some sort of School of Rock as part of the school.... tinkering, adventure scouts, and rocking out all day? Sounds like a dream life to me. And then we'd have plenty of used drum heads to spare.

Tin can-tastic

I have been super obsessed these days with interesting new reuse ideas. It means giving myself time to play, without a specific goal in mind... and it has taken me a long long time to let myself have this play time, and I am LOVING it. Whether some fantastic idea is born or not, it feeds my soul and that's for sure, so I'll just keep on with it, I do think I will... Anyway.

This is ultra simple but could be a cool alternative to disposable cups at a party.

This other idea is VERY simple and I guess I should advise you to wear gloves if you're trying this at home (you mad daredevils, you!) but just between you and me, this aluminum was surprisingly easy to work with and not at all dangerously sharp.

Take your sharp tools and snip off the top, and then cut lines all down the sides with your exacto knife.

Kind of squish it down, and your done! A sweet little candle holder. I think you could attach a little handle of some sort and use them as little hanging lanterns at an outdoor party in the evening...

I poked some holes down the sides with an embroidery needle for a little added flair. Also surprisingly easy to do. The needles goes in just like buttah, as they say in the east.

I had a lot of fun playing around with this can. I look forward to experimenting with this material even more. I guess you could say I'm a can-do kind of girl (please strike that pun from your memory, won't you? It's horribly embarassing).

Austin Creative Reuse... our first event!

This was so exciting... putting our idea out to the good people of Austin, turning people on to this awesome vision and igniting this little spark of excitement that's going to keep this project blazing on towards completion!

This meeting was to kind of to explain more to people what this reuse resource center is going to be like, how it's going to operate... and telling people more about how this model is very well established in places like Oakland, Chicago, New York City.... there's at least twenty of them in the U.S. Austin is so ripe and ready for a place like this.... it's pretty much a no-brainer.
Our event was really well attended and people were excited! My assignment was to lay out a simple reuse project. I decided to do this marble labyrinth game.... I can't even tell you how excited I became seeing what people came up with. So excited that it's a little bit ridiculous. But there it was, what I have been dreaming of this whole time... people creating, having fun, and using all these scraps and odds and ends to boot... well, there just ain't one thing wrong about that. Austin Creative Reuse in action.

Austin Creative Reuse!!!

What the What?!?! Is it possible that my dreams could really become a reality? Those of you that have followed my rantings and ravings may remember me frothing at the mouth about my idea for a business named Mungo. Wow, my God... that was only 8 months ago or so, I now realize. The universe was working fast on my behalf, thanks a bunch, Universe!! So anyways.... I started this blog all fulla reuse ideas also named Mungo.... And then got matched up with a wonderful bunch of people who had a similar idea to me (thanks Bernadette!!!) , to create this wonderful reuse resource center similar to the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse.... and now we've got a groovy logo and a name and are about to invite all of Austin to find out what we are all about! And that means YOU.... if you're out there reading this and this lights your fire in any way, come on down to the AAMP warehouse at 411 W. Monroe on Thursday November 5th at 7 pm to find out all about it. More here at www.austincreativereuse.org

ROAD TRIP!!

Our plans to go camping during this first part of Spring Break were foiled by this blessed, blessed rain which I am by no means cursing (just don't want to camp out in it) so we so completely on the spur of the moment pulled plan B out of our asses ears and headed to beautiful downtown HOUSTON (Which I had once heard described as the armpit of America by a former resident, and had never had any desire whatsoever to go to before now)!

Actually we were headed first to Hunstville, TX because I'd been turned on to Dan Phillips and his amazing work building houses with low income folks (with, not for, so they also get the amazing skills along with a house of their very own for insanely cheap by today's standards) out of STUFF OTHER PEOPLE WERE THROWING AWAY. So much good stuff gets thrown out from other building sites... and then along the way he also uses hickory nuts, license plates, glass relish plates, bottle caps, egg shells, and bones. It was so cool and I'm going to blog more about that over at Mungo.

We decided to do this trip so on the fly (and I want to give a big SHOUT OUT to my man for being so flexible and actually going along with my crazy idea when it woulda been so much easier to just stay put) but he totally rolled with it and got the kids in the car and all packed up within an hour when I caught Dan on the phone and he said he'd be happy to give us a tour. Matt also got on the computer ( I never would have had the foresight to do this, again, Matt, I applaud your hotel-booking genius) and got us a priceline thingamajingamabob where we scored a four star hotel in downtown Houston for $50!! I am quite glad he did this because I had already looked for a few moments online and had resigned myself to paying $72 for the cheapest (I thought) motel about which reviewers had written "scary neighborhood", "paper thin walls", "ice machine kept us awake all night", " bed was so uncomfortable we ended up sleeping on the floor"... yes, I'll say a four star was quite up our alley. Though a bit of comedy was that in our haste and hurry Matt had booked a room with just one king-sized bed (king sized... mmmm... the luxury....) and no they did not have extra cots, not even to rent. But they did have cribs, and they were free, so we ordered us up two of 'em. Thank goodness our big boys aren't yet a shade too big for the cribs, 'cause ain't nobody sharing my king sized bed with me. I mean except for the folks who normally share my bed. I'm just mean like that.
Anyway, in the morning, we ate crackers and avacados and grapefruit for our breakfast at Discovery Green, which was quite beautiful, then we went to the Rothko Chapel and to Star Pizza, where some good friends of ours met and fell in love and now have three children, and then on to the Children's Museum, which was downright insane in more ways than one. They just added on this major addition and it is GRAND, people, I mean, beyond belief, really. But they added on the damn new addition three days ago, which we did not know, and with it being spring break and all, it was just a little too coocamungo for our blood, and we weren't able to stay very long. Anyone feel like taking a trip there sometime soon though? We could caravan it, plan it for a day when most kids are in school, have the place to ourselves.... it would be hella fun. There was so much we hardly caught a glimpse of.

All in all, I didn't see much of Houston that was armpitty, and there was a lot more I'd like to do there and see there, and we drove through some beautiful old neighborhoods that gave thrills to those of us who like to look at houses and neighborhoods and gardens, so I think we'll be back. All in all I just think it was high time that this family had ourselves a little adventure. I really feel like it set us right, some sort of balance that has been upset for the last few months or so. Everyone was in high spirits and a holiday mood and I cannot tell you how much it fed my soul to see the kids love each other, look out for each other, and play with each other... it has been a long winter of fighting, ladies and gentleman, but now is the spring of our getting-along-ness... from here on out.
ROAD TRIP!!! Cures what ails ya.

In which, she just won't shut up about Mungo

Mungo is my dream and I'm salivating about it always. In an effort to move me even just one little fraction of an iota of an inch closer to my dream becoming a reality, I'm starting this blog. If you're so moved, amble on over there every now and again and hopefully I'll be assembling an assortment of delectable reuse treats and ideas for your perusement. If I'm able to keep up with it, then well, I'll know I'm on the right track. And if I'm not on the right track, at least I'll be going somewhere. And somewhere's better than anywhere! Or is it? Hmmm.

MUNGO!!

City Museum in St. Louis

Oh my goodness gosh... I have this fantasy of an absolutely aces playground for Mungo made predominantly from found or reclaimed materials... then someone at a birthday party today told me about this place. OH. MY. LORD. This is the place of my dreams... it's quite beyond my wildest dreams, actually. I feel almost shamed at someone's ability to dream quite so much grander than I even could. Anyway, I MUST GO HERE SOON! It's my Disneyland. Here's just TWO of the ten million attractions I find so intoxicating:

Enchanted Caves: Painted in mystery and textured with intrigue, the Enchanted Caves at CITY MUSEUM offer explorers of all ages an opportunity to walk, climb and crawl through the mind of a master artist. Built within a historic shoe factory's spiral conveyor tunnel system, the caves emanate from deep within the heart of CITY MUSEUM.

Monstro City: What happens when you mix two Saber 40 aircraft fuselages, a fire engine, a castle turret, a 25' tall cupola and several 4' wide wrought-iron slinkies, and the creativity of CITY MUSEUM Creative Director Bob Cassilly and his crew? The result is MonstroCity, the most monumental, monolithic, monstrous montage of monkey bars in the world.

MUNGO

And so it shall be called, my utopia. MUNGO!!

'"Mungo" is a word used by sanitation workers to refer to things salvaged from the trash.
It has been assumed that it comes from "mung," a cheap cloth. But no direct link has been found. The word has also been spelled as "mongo."
Recently, "mungo" has been spotted from the 1930s. It has been used in Brooklyn. I have guessed that it might be a joke on the colorful Brooklyn Dodger pitcher of the 1930s, Van Lingle Mungo. But that remains just a guess.'

I found this definition here.

It's funny, I came across that word a few years ago and thought it would be the perfect name for like a cool re-sale shop like NewBohemia. I felt a desire to name something Mungo but since I didn't have a desire to open a shop like that I let it go. I think I love names that end in -O. Jack was going to be Nemo, because of this beloved comic strip, but then that frakkin' movie came out...
Now perhaps fate has decreed that I have a Bruno and a Mungo in my life.
MUNGO!!
or Mongo?
in some circles it is known as Mongo.... Mungo, Mongo, which is better.
If it was Mongo, it would rhyme with Bongo, the bunny from the Life is Hell comic strip by Matt Groening. Then I would always have this rhyme in my head, "My name is little Bongo. I like to sing this son-go. Whenever I get called upon the teacher says I'm wron-go."
I always get that rhyme stuck in my head, probably because I read 'School is Hell' about 15 million times when I was a teenager. Wonder why.
And now I will take my leave. MUNGO!!

YARGH!

That's an ecstatic yawp of excitement, not a frustrated roar.
My brain's afire. I figured out what I want to do with my life, at least over the next few years.
I was just over at my friend Ellen's, and she reminded me about this place in Oakland, The East Bay Depot for Creative Re-Use. I remembered that I had seen that website a long time ago and wished there was something like that around here. Now I know:
I want to have that depot. And I want to have tinkering classes and art classes there, and a store where artists and any uh, just other kind of people, all sorts who might like to build new stuff out of old stuff... and have it all appealingly laid out... I was just reading this Reggio Emilia book about using waste materials for awesome art projects. When it's all separated out, our 'trash' looks SO visually appealing... and doing that with kids, well gee, what an amazing seed to plant in them.
Anyway, maybe I'll even have a fantastic cafe there too, because another dream of mine is to have a perfect coffee shop that is perfectly kid friendly but more than that just has perfect coffee and is fun for anyone, who has kids or not, to come hang out...
Oh this is perfect. Now where will I build my wonderland?
Oh and by the way, check out this website I found! It has multitudes of ideas for reusing everything! And they're actually good ideas, at least some of them are... not some lame thing where you cut the bottom of a soda bottle off and paint it and use it for a soap dish. I'm sorry, but that is a very sorry example of upcycling.