Let me explain:

Kristi and I are proponents of making choices for our home and lifestyle that are economically and environmentally sound. We think the best and wisest use of our resources is stewarding them through informed decisions. If you’ve read any of our blog posts, you already know this.

So, whenever we go to IKEA and I make a trip to their restroom, I always think about their dual-flush toilet. It’s such a simple idea that I wish was standard on every toilet in America — a different flush for different business. You get to choose whether you need a lot of water, or a little.

Since we’ve already adopted other methods in our house to conserve water (e.g., our rain barrel, using a bucket to save the pre-heated shower water for plants, etc.) getting a dual-flush converter for our toilet was a no-brainer.

It turned out to be an economical solution as well. We were able to score this guy on Amazon for $20, and I got it installed in less than 20 minutes. What’s great is that it’s a cleaner look on the toilet than the standard handle, and we now have the ability to use less water for uses that don’t need to drain the full tank.

The only recommendation I have for people who decide to install one of these devices — do the calibration/testing after actually using the bathroom. It can take a couple flushes to get everything set correctly, so there’s no sense in wasting the water you’re hoping to save.

Also, a neat trick for saving even more water — fill up an empty half-gallon milk jug with water and sit it in your toilet tank (we do this in both our bathrooms). It displaces water, so your tank fills less each time. We’ve been doing that even before the dual-flush conversion, and never noticed any issues.

Now if only my workplace would install toilets like this (or maybe even a flush-less urinal system for the guys).

+Bounty Hunter

+Away We Go

+The Book of Eli

+Capitalism: A Love Story

+The Fall

+Mansfield Park

Read:

+Ezra, Psalms, Nehemiah, Esther, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon; started Proverbs, continued in Luke

+This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Kristi)

+Alphabet of Grace by Frederick Buechner (Trevor)

Done:

+Said goodbye to an important part of our life group, David & Ali. They went to L.A. for a new adventure, and started a blog for chronicling it, but we already miss them!

+Bought a new camera! We had the perfect opportunity to use it come the end of August…

+We headed on a week-long road trip to Pennsylvania, visiting with friends like newlyweds Eian & Lauren, Kristi’s oldest friend Becca, newly engaged college friend Jake, and several other Johnnies… it’s also the wedding week for Lisa & Nate! Yay!

Our current coffee gear includes a standard 12-cup maker (brought out only when we’re hosting a large group of people), a Bodum french press (our standard coffee maker of choice), and a stove-top espresso maker. For my birthday this year, Kristi added another piece to our arsenal — the Hario Ceramic Coffee Dripper.

It’s a wonderful little device, because it allows us to make a single cup of coffee on demand. The process is almost identical to making a french press pot, so it didn’t involve much change. After a few cups, I can say that it indeed makes a good cup of coffee — lots of body and flavor, but with the smoothness of being sent through a paper filter.

Check out some coffee-prep shots below — and also check out these awesome videos made about Intelligentsia, the company that sells the Hario.

Trevor’s research had focused in on the Canon Rebel T2i, also known as the Canon EOS 550D. This camera is an upgrade from the Rebel XT in several ways, including:

- Jump from 9 megapixels to 18 megapixels

- Wider range of ISO options, which enable better low-light shots. The Rebel XT only went to ISO 1200; the T2i goes to ISO 6400.

- T2i offers an HD video option. This video option has also been improved since the T1i came out, eliminating the noise from the camera’s movements from being heard on the recording.

With the existing 18-55mm zoom lens on the Rebel XT, we opted to get our first Canon prime lens – a fixed focal length lens – of 50mm. Prime lenses also give you a wider range of aperture options, and therefore, a wider range of depth of field.

We also added an external Speedlite flash to our gear and a diffuser for the pop-up flash.

Check out some shots we recently took with our new Canon Rebel T2i and accompanying prime lens.

One of these guys decided it would be an awesome ministry to get older bikes donated to the church, which he (and some other volunteers) would check out, tune up, and then give away to some kids and adults in the city that wanted a bike for enjoyment, or needed one for transportation.

A few weeks ago, Kristi and I decided to stop by for one of the evening sessions to try our hand at bike repair. It was good that a bunch of other people showed up, too — because there were over 50 bikes waiting for us!

It was a really fun night getting to take bikes apart to switch out parts (or build Frankenstein bikes out of whatever components we could find). There were definitely guys there with more bike knowledge than me, but it was good to get my hands dirty and work on building my skill set.

We can’t wait to go back again to fix more bikes and, maybe one day, tag along during delivery to see the people who will be blessed with two wheels.

Me working on a bike:

I was super proud of Kristi who, even though it was her first time working heavily on bikes, swapped out a set of brake pads to get a bike in riding (and stopping) condition.

Test riding the bikes was always a blast. It looked funny when grown men were wheeling around on kiddie bikes:

Over 20 bikes were repaired and ready to give out to kids the following Tuesday at Serve the City:

One of his first legitimate uses of these panniers ended up being a grocery shopping errand. Not only do we live close to a grocery store, but now we can pick up small amounts of groceries with two man-powered wheels instead of four gas-powered ones.

Other handy uses of these bags will be for Trevor’s commutes to work, allowing him to bring a change of clothes with him from home, and pack his lunch on his bike. Or just bring an extra Arnold Palmer to quench his thirst.

This basket hangs from our deck railing. We opted to put it on the inside of the deck because it is easier to see and enjoy for those sitting outside. You can also get a nice view of it through our sliding glass door in our main living space. We hung it with a few zip ties, which can hold and support the weight of the basket sufficiently well.

The plants included are variegated vincas (I love the trailing effect over the sides), three different varieties of coleus, and wax begonias which are heat-loving flowers.

I picked out and assembled the arrangement myself, with some plant input from Trevor. While pre-made arrangements in the same size and type of metal basket cost upwards of $60 or more each, I made mine for nearly half the cost! The biggest expense was the metal basket frame, which cost about $20. The great thing is that it is reusable. The cocoa liner, however, will need to be replaced each season. The liner costs around $10-12. We already had the soil and plant food on hand. The plants we got at a discount because we shopped later in the season, when they went on sale. The variegated vincas were the most expensive, at $4 a plant, while the other flowers we got for $1 each or less! It pays to DIY.

While it still cost around $40 or $45 to make this basket, next year it will probably only cost about $15, the cost of a liner and perhaps a few flowers. Most of the plants we purchase are perennials, so they will come back year after year. We opt to buy annuals mainly for our front porch pots, as they are cheaper and allow for some variety each year.

Here’s when Alyosha came out, trotting beside the garden to go say hi to the neighboring horses.

We make the occasional friend at the garden.

Corn is being harvested this week.

Some plants – zucchini and squash – have been getting so big they are taking over the walking paths and even clobbered a few tomato and pepper plants. We’ve tried to redirect the creeping vines elsewhere to keep them from suffocating more neighboring plants.

We have veritable basil bushes, and a host of other wonderful-smelling herbs. I harvested a meager load of basil and made homemade pesto to give away. (Trevor is nearly convinced we need to replace our front bushes with basil… pretty, edible, and nice smelling.)

The tomatoes are getting huge.

There are even splashes of unexpected color – from the sunflowers and marigolds, to these bright stalks.

What is perhaps most amazing is that this garden is pesticide/chemical-free, and is still doing so well. We are amazed more critters have not turned the garden into a big feast for themselves. So far, at least.

Join us on a future Saturday and get your hands dirty!

Oh, and did I mention that yours truly was accepted to the Fayette County Master Gardener Program this fall? I’m a little excited. Classes start after Labor Day.

Happy Friday!