eb v1 | sundries and such

Sustainable wood rings

Saturday August 16, 2008

Touch of Wood Rings

For anyone who knows me, you know I do not believe in the traditional sense of marriage. Knowing the rate of divorce in our country, I can safely say that the tradition alone does not justify it for success. Since moving to Colorado, Nate and I have become Common Law Married. It’s fortunate for us that Colorado just happens to be one of the those states that recognizes common law.
Our justification for common law is simple, we do not like the idea of a lavish, expensive showcase for our relationship to each other. And recently I have been trying to find the right ring to showcase our philosophy of how we want to live as a couple. At first, I was thinking about a Tungsten ring, only to find out it’s near impossible to cut off if you have an accident. Then I was thinking about Titanium, but it still did not resonate with the both of us. Not to mention, buying the ring is supporting the non-environmentally mining of the metal. But this past weekend I came across this site:

www.touchwoodrings.com

Behind the site is a couple, David & Nicola Finch from British Columbia, Canada, who follow a philosophy of “right to livlihood,” a simple sustainable lifestyle:

“Right Livelihood embodies the principle that each person should follow an honest occupation which fully respects other people and the natural world. It means being responsible for the consequences of our actions and taking only a fair share of the earth’s resources. Right Livelihood is about sustaining a lifestyle that values simplicity and contentment, rather than acquiring material possessions.”

This is something Nate and I both believe in. Because we do not like jewelry for its support in non-environmentally-friendly mining of metal materials, we wanted rings that are unique to us, but also sustainable and environmentally friendly. We knew Touch of Wood Rings were the perfect bands for who we are as a couple.

Our rings are not made just yet. When ordering, you do have to make an early request; David needs about a month to devote to each set of rings. Still our patience with be rewarded in the end. I will post images of them when they arrive.

Below you can see more examples of the relative design we are having made. Exterior wood is Grenadilla African Black wood and interior is Blue Spruce. We decided we are not going to have the decorative rings on the exterior wood.

Touch of Wood Rings

Examples from their Gallery:
Blog:
warmthofwood.blogspot.com
Touch of Wood Rings

House Hunting and the inevitable House Dreaming

Thursday July 17, 2008

It’s fair to say that I love light and all that is minimal, still, being a first time home buyer doesn’t give me too much leverage. The best way I am going to get the style out of the house I want is to “make it” my own. It will entail a lot of remodeling.
I’ve been looking at a lot of my favorite interior deign sites and site that offer ideas for revamping.
Here are some great finds:
remodeled houses

Source: remodelista.com

Schwinn Traveller III striped, updated, and complete

Friday June 20, 2008

Before:

my bike

After:
Schwinn Traveller III updated

So my bike project has been complete for while. Its really just taken me some time to take the pictures and post it.

the final list of updated parts:
Brooks honey-brown leather Saddle Seat
Brooks honey-brown leather bar tape
Soma Major Taylor Handlebars
Soma pedals
Paul’s Components e-lever brake
and the Schwinn Traveller II frame striped of its original baby blue color.
I had debated between a vintage teal green or light opaque green but couldn’t settle and decided on just a clear coat.
Maybe in the next bike project I will decide to forged ahead and apply some paint.

You can see more of my bike after the chemical stripping from my previous post here.

The plane of immanence

Monday June 16, 2008

Canyonland Spires

Henri Tikkanen
Source: henritikkanen.info

Lately, I have felt full of everything and nothing…
When you assume to expect much from others, you find yourself questioning what just happened, (as I most recently did).

I keep few close friends, as I truly believe you can only have so many without losing sight of that particular “closeness.” I know one of my great strength and also faults is wanting to know and understand all around me. But there are moments and actions of others you just can’t possibly understand at times.
And here I am again. Not nearer to understanding.

I believe this statement to be even more true:
Never forget who you are…the rest of the world is wrong.

Yes, the plane of immanence is most interesting.