Bitch Magazine update

Bitch Magazine has been saved!!

...for one more issue. In just a few short days, the Bitch community rallied to their support and raised over $46,000! If you had been planning to donate, update or start a subscription, please do!! More support means more time to strategize and come up with a long-term, sustainable plan. Keep it going!!

Save Bitch Magazine!

Bitch Magazine's fate is in our hands

Don't let this smart, relevant feminist voice fall silent.

First the bad news: The print publishing industry as a whole is staring into a void. Across the board, newsstand magazine sales are in a slump, subscriber numbers are down, and paper and postal costs continue to rise. But it's not magazines like US Weekly or Vogue that you'll see disappearing from the newsstands—they have the parent companies and the resources to weather industry ill winds. It's the small, independent magazines like Bitch that will disappear, because the odds are already stacked high against them. And simply put: Bitch needs to raise $40,000 by October 15th in order to print the next issue of Bitch.

Now the good news: While it's true that $40,000 is a lot of money, the number of Bitch supporters is in the hundreds of thousands. And they're asking each of us who values independent, nonprofit media and intelligent feminist cultural analysis to contribute what we can to ensure that Bitch thrives. And while they can't say what form Bitch will take in the future (their direction will depend, in part, on our feedback), they can say that they've been hard at work to find an innovative publishing model that will allow them to maintain the spirit and integrity of Bitch while also reflecting the changing world around us.

As a nonprofit, reader-funded media organization, Bitch's fate really is—and always will be—in our hands. Bitch doesn't need a parent company. They just need us!

::: Please help continue this important work by donating and sharing this message :::

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Magic Carpet!

I finally found the right rug!

Roger and I have been searching websites and stores for just the right one, with minimal success. There have been ones that I liked but weren't right for the living room, and some that were perfect but cost just as much as the living room, and finally I found this one, hanging on the wall upstairs at Homeport.

I dismissed it at first, thinking that the light gray areas would show dirt and dog hair easily. Luckily, this is an indoor/outdoor rug! So the pile is really short, and it cleans really easily!! (In the words of my sister, "You can just take it outside and hose it down!") I wasn't sure if it would look okay with the couch but luckily I remembered Mom's rule that of course ALL blues go together! So what would we call it, teal? Sea green perhaps?

I finally bought it this past weekend, on sale for 20% off! Roger and I proudly paraded it down Church Street and I put it down as soon as we got home. And I haven't stopped smiling about it since!

Localvore Smoothie!

Localvore Smoothie
-Vermont Co-op Milk
-Butterworks Farm plain organic yogurt
-Frozen local raspberries
-Honey

Delicious!

I originally meant this to be a recipe post, but quickly hit a roadblock: I never make it the same way twice! Plus "glob" and "some" aren't really helpful measurements. I start with the milk and frozen berries, and once that's a bright pink, I add yogurt until it's the right consistency. The last thing is the honey, otherwise it sinks to the bottom of the blender. Enjoy!

Eat Local Challenge!

Once again this year, I'm taking the Eat Local Challenge for the month of September. I've pledged to eat only food produced within 100 miles of home for the whole month. I'll keep you posted on my trials and tribulations throughout the challenge!

before and after

Or rather, after...

And before.

(and during)

Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women

On Saturday, September 6, Rogerdog and I will participate in the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund's second-annual "Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women."

The LKW Memorial Fund is a non-profit organization created in the wake of Laura's murder in 2005. This year's 5K march will benefit two vital Vermont organizations: Women Helping Battered Women and the Women's Rape Crisis Center.

Please support Roger and me as we join the Kelliher Samets Volk team and the Burlington community at Laura's March. Every little donation helps!

Thanks for your support!
Laura Lou & Roger too

KSV's Commuter Challenge!

I'm excited to announce that the KSV Commuter Challenge is upon us! We're already in the thick of it, with Week 1 behind us and Week 2 under way...

Here's how it works:

●Outside the kitchen there's a star chart sign-up list. (Gold stars are motivating no matter what your age!)

●For every day that you alterna-commute (anything other than single person in a vehicle), you get to put up a star. If you totally leave your car at home, it's a gold star. If you drive a carpool, it's a green star.

●At the end of the week, each star earns you entry into the prize drawing. We've got a $25 gift certificate for each week, two from Skirack, and two from Outdoor Gear Exchange.

●In addition to the weekly drawings, at the end of the four weeks we will calculate an MVP. This will be the person who cuts the most driving miles from their commute.

The commuter challenge is brought to us by the green group, Skunkworks. We've been working on behind the scenes projects like making sure everyone has a blue recycling bin, switching all paper to FSC-certified, and urging people to make the switch to electronic instead of paper archival methods (job bags, open job lists, emails, etc).

In preparation for this project, Kate developed a Google map showing each employee's location and bus stops. The map is mounted and resides in the Diner. At our July company meeting, we had assigned seating in clusters of people who live near each other to facilitate carpool discussion. The following week was our official kick-off event, complete with green food (key lime cookies, guacamole) and drinks (appletinis and margaritas!).

We received great support and energy from our prize sponsors, Skirack and Outdoor Gear Exchange. Skirack even chipped in a bonus gift certificate and a bag of runner/cyclist give-aways! OGE runs a commuter challenge for their employees as well, with a prize every month.

There are 25 participants (27 if you count Edith and Rogerdog), and already this week 13 people have earned stars! Way to go KSV, keep up the green work!!

Gonna make this garden grow

Here's tonight's tomato harvest!!

I think I'll harvest some of my basil and make bruschetta for my guests this weekend!

Roger and the Lock

Oh, Roger! Why do you do these things?!

I came home for lunch today. I don't get to do that every day, so I was pretty happy about it. That quickly changed when one of my more random, less probable fears was realized: Roger had locked himself into my bedroom.

As you can see, to lock the door is a simple flick of a switch and presto, privacy. However, to unlock it, one must turn the porcelain knob from the inside. On my side, the living room side, there is only a hole above the knob for a "key." Now, I know from my many years as an amateur babysitter that responsible parents keep the key on the frame above the door for just such an occurrence. However, I am not one of those responsible parents. Also, I don't even have a key for it.

After trying such genius materials as a pen cap, paperclip, and screwdriver, I ran down to Marla, who once again saved the day, this time by lending me a wire coat hanger. I was able to pop it open, and Roger smiled and danced, oblivious to the peril he had so recently been in, wondering only why I had waited so long to open the door.

And that, Matt, is why I go home at lunch.